Saving Ashley
by Jenni Drocks
Summary: One teenage Quileute girl's life has changed completely. She has just witnessed the deaths of her whole family and it hasn't been a full twenty-four hours when a pack member imprints on her. An Embry imprint story! EmbryxOC. Rated M. ** Now On Hiatus **
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I've read some stories of this type and thought I'd give it a try ('this type' is the kind where a girl is running away from some vampires and the wolf pack save them). I wrote this chapter over two days and I think I've fixed everything, but I apologize for any mistakes. This is really graphic and morbid so if you don't like any of that stuff, don't read, because you'll probably hate it. If you do make sure to drop a review after you've read it!**

**Oh, and, P.S. this is after all of the books. So there is Jacob's pack (Seth, Leah, Embry and Quil) and Sam's (Jared, Paul, Brady, Collin, and all the new wolves (6) but they are all still in La Push for school and everything.**

**Songs – Ashley – Escape the Fate**

**One Day You Will – Lady Antebellum**

I held my breath for a moment, straining my ears to hear every little thing. All I could hear was the rustle of leaves above me and my strained breathing. I uncrossed my long legs and laid them out, stretching them a bit. I sighed and looked down at the yellow nylon rope that held me to the tree. My clothes were still stained with the blood of my sisters – my dead sisters. I choked back a sob.

The crazy woman had beaten me up for screaming hysterically as they dragged me away from my family. I've been wheezing ever since. I swear she fractured a rib or something, or at least bruised the bone.

I tilted my head to the back so it leaned against the tree. I would be curled up into a ball crying my eyes out if I wasn't tied to this stupid tree.

I heard the pair of… _monsters_ talk softly. They were probably discussing when they'll have me. Maybe lunch, or perhaps brunch, they had an early breakfast anyway – more like a late night snack because it was more of around eleven o'clock then twelve when they started to munch on my father at the gas station.

I whimpered, in not only pain but in loss. Oh why did Dad have to be so paranoid? Why did he have to be so caring about his car and his youngest daughter, who had forgotten to relieve herself at the last rest stop?

"Oh, Emily," I murmured. My eyes began to water, I hadn't really _cried_ for any of them yet. I was too busy screaming for the woman and the man to stop.

The brunette was suddenly standing in front of me and I cringed.

"Please don't hurt me, please," I said bowing my head.

A cold hand grabbed my hand and gently lifted my head to look in her bright red eyes.

"Oh, don't worry little Ashley. We aren't going to hurt you… yet," The woman said.

The man came around the tree on my left. "Oh, Mary, that is such a cliché line."

The woman let go of my chin and rose out of her crouch. "Well what else am I supposed to say? I'll drink all your delicious blood tomorrow?"

I whimpered and the man looked down at me with an almost sympathetic look.

"I thought we were only going to give her today to run?" The man said crossing his strong, tan arms over his chest.

"I say give her more time. It'll make the tracking part just a little bit longer, and besides she'll probably more scared after running for so long. You know I love it when they're like that, it's almost like you can taste the fear," Mary said, seductively moving toward the man.

My breathing hitched, _they were going to do what?_ _I don't want to be eaten,_ I thought. _I need to get away._

"Oh, yeah," the man growled as he wrapped his arms around Mary as they began to kiss.

If I was my normal self and _not_ traumatized I'd probably be disgusted. But instead I was remembering them in a different setting with them doing the same thing, with blood dripping down their chins. I tried to steer my thoughts away from that moment; that had happened only hours ago.

I had to think positive, as positive as I could – given the horrible situation I was in. They were talking about letting me go, well even for a short while. _No, no, positive thoughts only._ I had one thing on my side, a very good thing about myself that they didn't know about. In this moment I found myself thanking the people way up in the sky looking out for me. I now found the true meaning in my horrible hand-eye-coordination; They were guiding my life so I would be a runner instead of a basketball player, so I could have a better chance of escape.

I gave silent thanks, along with a wish for strength and courage to get through this. I timidly brought my eyes to the two creatures standing in front of me who were still sucking face.

I felt a wave of strength pass through me and I cleared my throat, rather loudly. The two of them looked down at me with surprise; their little hostage had a backbone.

"So am I just going to stay tied to this tree forever?" I asked.

"No, you aren't darling. But you must be patient," The man said turning back to Mary.

"What's your name?" I asked the man.

The man smirked and crouched down to look me straight in the eye. "What is it to you, little girl?"

"I think its courtesy to tell your name to the person you're going to kill. So at least they'll have some idea who to haunt in the afterlife," I said as calmly as I could. I was really trying to get on his good side, and it seemed like I was. The man howled was howling with laughter.

"You know what? I like you. Tell ya what. I'll let you decide on how long you'll be running from old Gary here," The man said. "It could just be for the next twelve hours; like I want or for the next twenty four; like what Mary wants."

"That's cute, your names rhyme," I murmured.

The woman smirked as she took a step forward to place a hand on Gary's shoulder.

"I – I'd like, to… um… choose the twenty four hours, please," I said.

The woman's smirk turned into a grin as Gary rose out of his crouch.

"Good choice," He said, walking around behind me and the tree. There was a tug on the rope and I coughed out a breath as the rope fell to the ground. I weakly pushed the ropes off of my legs and stood up slowly. Gary walked back and stood in front of me.

"Now here is the only rule. If you are to find anyone on your little run, you won't say a word to them about us. If you do, we'll kill you slowly along with the people you tell. So save yourself the pain and just enjoy you're run… your twenty four hours begins… now," Gary said so calmly that it took me a second to begin to walk away. I looked back over my shoulder to see Gary eyeing me and Mary resting a hand on Gary's shoulder as she gave me a little wave.

I turned back around and began to jog away.

"See ya soon sweetie," Mary called after me.

I chill ran up my back and I picked up my pace. I'd wait a moment to collect myself and decide what direction was home.

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

I jogged for a good twenty minutes before I stopped to take a little breather. I glanced up to the sky beyond the green trees. It was still dark out and the moon was gone. So that meant the sun would be coming up in a couple of hours.

I reached a hand into my jean pocket to pull out my battered cellphone. The front touch screen had a cobweb pattern of cracks on it so I flipped it open to see the inside screen. It wasn't damaged that bad, just a little discoloring of the screen. The background was a picture of me and my bestie on a trip to Port Angeles.

Now that I remember we had passed through Port Angeles on our second to last rest stop. So I wasn't that far away from home. I think the last stop was somewhere near Beaver.

I sighed and scuffed my worn Converse against the dirt. Hopefully my shoes will hold up until I get home.

_And then what?_

"No," I said aloud. "No negative thoughts." I looked back up at the sky willing the sun to come up so I would know which way was west, the way back home. I heard a rustling behind me and I began to run in the direction I had been going in. I set my mind onto one task, run home.

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

I ran on autopilot, literally.

I kinda felt like Forrest Gump. I kept quoting him in my head, I just ran… I ran and I ran and I ran.

I was holding up pretty well, the only complication was my hurting chest. I'd take a little break every thirty or forty five minutes, but I'd keep walking in the same direction. Setting my mind on one task was helping me focus my thoughts, so they didn't drift to morbid things.

I walked over a fallen log, resting my hands atop my head for my third break. I must have covered at least ten miles or more. I had to be close to La Push. I had to.

I stopped walking and leaned up against the tree. What if I wasn't heading in the right direction, what if I was heading inland?

"Oh, no. No, no, no," I groaned and slid to the forest floor. I couldn't be heading in the wrong direction, I couldn't.

I tilted my head to look up to the sky; soft red-yellow light glowed above me. A small smile spread across my face. The light seemed to be coming from behind me on the right, from the east.

I stood up and held my arms out in a straight away from my sides. I turned so my right hand was pointing to the east and my left to the west, turning myself into a compass.

"So, I'm facing north," I said aloud, trying to figure things out. "I've been running from this direction," I pointed to the northeast," that means I've been heading in the right direction. But I've been heading south more than anything else, so I should try to just go western now." I turned my-self ninety degrees to face the west.

I took off running at the fastest pace I could manage with my sore chest.

After thirty minutes of running I began to hear something else. It was almost like someone else was running along with me.

I stopped running and turned around in one spot, thinking of Gary and Mary – the deadly duo. On my second rotation I saw something against the green and brown background, a grey animal.

"Oh my…"

That grey animal was in fact a very, very large wolf. The wolf had his head down low and was growling.

This. Couldn't. Happen.

_I could not be eaten by a wolf while I was trying to save my ass from being killed by vampires!_

"NO!" I shouted, and that seemed to startle the wolf. So I kept yelling. "Get away! You are not going to eat me! I've been through enough shit today!" The wolf raised his lips from his big teeth as he growled louder. "I probably have PTSD you stupid _ass_ of a wolf! Does a traumatized human taste better than a scared one? I wouldn't think that because that- that vampire freak said scared humans taste better!" I was beginning to lose my mind. I was probably right, I probably did have PTSD.

The wolf stopped growling and cocked his head at me.

"What?" I asked it, lurching a step forward. I raised a hand to wipe it across my sweaty forehead, I paused though, mid-motion; my hand was shaking like crazy. I raised my other hand to see it was shaking just as badly. I whimpered in fright as I noticed this was happening to my legs. I didn't know what was going on with me, my best guess was trauma. Though I thought I went through that when Mary and Gary pulled me away from my family, screaming and yelling.

I crumpled to my knees as the images I had kept at bay so well came flooding into my head.

_My littlest sister, Emily, grinning as she pushed open the storefront door, not knowing she was walking to her death._

_Gary, grinning manically as he ripped off the back door of the van, blood dripping from his chin. Him grabbing my other sister, Jasmine, and I by our hair and pulling us out of the backseat._

_Jasmine being roughly shoved to Mary as Jasmine and I screamed for our lives._

_Gary's cold hands gripping my shoulders as Mary bit Jasmine and drank her blood. All the while Jasmine was screaming for it to stop, for me to help her._

"Are you alright?" A voice said as a hand was placed on my left shoulder. I yelled and scrambled away from the man. I tried to stand, but I couldn't. My hysteric sobs were putting me off balance. I turned to sit on my butt as I pulled my knees up to my chest, attempting to protect myself against whoever it was.

"_Ashley?_" Another voice sounded.

"Who?" The first voice asked.

"Ashley Conweller. She's Kim's cousin," The second voice said.

I gasped in a breath. "What is… it… to you?" I said between sobs. I missed my family, I missed them so much. I just wish I was dead so I could be with them all again.

"Nothing," The first voice said. "It doesn't matter who you are," the man's voice drew closer. "What matters is that you're hurt."

"No," I said, looking up to see who it was talking to me. I could only make out the outline of the two people because of my watery eyes. I raised a shaky hand to try to wipe away the tears, but only succeeded in smudging my face with dirt. "It doesn't really matter. I'm just gonna die anyway," I added remembering the rules Gary had set. It was all just a game for them. For me I just wanted to get back home for the chance to see my family's faces in a peaceful light, in the pictures perched all around the house.

"Why do you say that?" The man said.

"Because I am," I mumbled, blinking away tears. Looking up at the man, I recognized him. "You go to QTS?"

"Yeah," the man answered. "I'm a junior there Ashley."

I sighed and looked up at him, studying his face. He was one of the kids a part of Sam's group; I could tell from his size, same went for the kid behind him. They seemed so alike, that I couldn't pin a certain name to this man-teen.

"It's Paul, Ash! And I'm Hunter, your younger sister's girlfriend!" The kid said in frustration. **(He's one of the new wolves).**

I cringed away and Paul turned around and scolded Hunter. Oh, Jasmine would probably be embarrassed at me if she was here, I didn't even recognize her boyfriend.

"Jasmine…" I said, quietly. I looked back at Hunter with sad eyes and after a moment it seemed like he deflated.

"What happened, Ashley?" Hunter asked.

I gulped, as another wave of sadness washed over me. "They're dead," I whispered.

"What?" Hunter asked incredulously.

"Come on Ashley, we'll clean you up." Paul walked forward and gently took hold of my arms to heft me up into a standing position.

I yelled at him when his hands touched my skin and struggled out of his grip.

"Ashley," Paul said sternly, "stop it."

"No! Let go of me!" I shouted.

"I'm sorry but no, we need to get you cleaned up and you have to tell us what happened," Paul said keeping his hold on me.

"_No!_ I can't – I—I can't say anything, or else everyone else dies!" I yelled. I couldn't say anything, which was a rule.

"Hunter," Paul called, "go ahead and warn ahead of what I'm bringing. Round someone up who can be all sensitive with her."

"OK," Hunter said, before running off.

Paul grappled with me a moment before lifting me off of my feet, to carry me as he ran in the same direction Hunter had left.

I switched between yelling at Paul to let me down and to just take me home.

I was just about ready to pass out when Paul stopped and put me down on the ground. I let out the loudest scream I could muster and kicked him in the leg.

"Asshole!" I yelled.

"Ashley!" A young girl shouted. I turned to see my cousin standing on the back porch of a house. "Oh, God! Ashley, Wh-what happened to you?" She began to move down the porch steps but a man placed a hand on her shoulder stopping her. He bent over and said something, Kim looked up at him but her gaze drifted back over to me.

"Kimmy?" I asked.

Her face saddened and she pushed the man's hand off her shoulder and ran over to me. She wrapped her arms tightly around me and I managed to wrap my shaking arms around her. I leaned my head into her shoulder and started to cry again. I kept trying to tell her that they were all gone, but she kept interrupting me saying that it would be alright.

"Kim," A voice sounded beside us.

I whined and held on tighter to Kim, not wanting to let go of her. It felt so good to see her after everything that happened.

"Jared, leave us alone for a little bit, OK?" Kim said.

I heard him sigh and walk away.

I lifted my head from her shoulder to look at her face.

"Oh, Ash," She murmured, raising a hand to wipe away the tears and dirt on my face. "Let's go inside and get you cleaned up."

I silently nodded and Kim turned to guide me into the house. We passed through the back door that was being held open by Jared. There were others inside that looked just like Paul, Jared and Hunter. They all were crowded around a large dining table and others sat in the family area.

"Collin, Finn, get up off the couch," Kim ordered, steering me over to the big couch where the two boys had been. Kim sat me down and I happily leaned back into the plush couch. Closing my eyes I sighed, it felt so good to be back – even if it wasn't in my own home.

A door opened and I heard a number of people talking. I easily ignored them, focusing on the feel of the soft fabric of the couch underneath my hand.

"What does she need, Kim?" A woman's voice asked near me.

"I'd just start with a cloth, soap, and water. She needs to be cleaned up," Kim answered.

"Mhmmm," I hummed in agreement.

"Ashley?" Kim asked, gently touching my arm to get my attention.

"Yes," I said, lifting my head and opening my eyes to look at Kim.

"Do you want to talk about what happened?"

"No," I answered.

"Alright, well, would you feel alright if I helped you get cleaned up and changed into some fresh clothes?" Kim asked gently.

"Yes," I said.

Kim smiled at me and took my hand to lead me away. As we moved away from all the boys and men, I could hear a shower running from somewhere. Kim opened the first door on the right side of the hall, showing a nice little bathroom with a woman standing in the middle of it.

The woman introduced herself as Emily and I couldn't help the frown that touched my face. I missed my sister, Emily, and Jasmine, and Mom and Dad.

They let me take my time in the shower after I got undressed. I washed myself thoroughly with the washcloth and the bar of Dove soap. Then after cleaning all the blood and grime off of me I just stood there and let the hot water relax my muscles. The warmth of the water and steam felt great in comparison to the cold hands that had handled me earlier today.

Shutting off the water I asked for a towel. Emily slid back the curtain a bit to hold out a white towel for me.

I gently wrapped it around my torso and stepped out of the shower.

Emily told me to get dressed in the clothes that were sitting on the countertop next to the sink. Then Kim and Emily left, Kim adding that they'll be just outside the door. I took off the towel and wrapped it around my hair and began to get dressed.

I slowly opened the bathroom door to see Kim standing right beside it. She and Emily led me back to the main room and sat me back down on the couch.

Across from where I sat, stood a large man. I recognized him as Sam, and was very tall in comparison to the others and the feel of authority was rolling off of him in waves.

"Ashley," he said, "Can you tell me what happened to you?"

I shook my head no.

Sam let out a breath. "Can you tell me what happened to your family?"

I shook my head again with more vigor. "No."

"Can you tell me anything?" Sam questioned.

"I can tell you that they are all dead," I answered sadly.

"How did they die?" Jared asked.

"Somebody killed them," I said.

"Who?" Sam asked.

"I can't tell," I said.

"Why can't you tell us, Ashley?" Sam said.

"Because, it's a rule. I… I was given a shot to try and run away a—and this was the rule that… that they gave me. I have to f-follow it… or else…" I couldn't say it; I couldn't because I didn't want it to be true.

"Or else, what?" Sam urged.

"Or else… they will k-kill me… slowly… a-along with the people who I tell, a-and I don't want anyone else t-to die," I managed to say.

Sam made a shooing gesture with his hand and one of the five boys left. I watched him as he quickly left through the back door.

"Ashley, you can tell me who did it. I can help you be safe, we all can," Sam said, gesturing to all the people in the room.

I shook my head and shifted further back into the couch.

"Ashley…"

"No," I said.

"Ash," Kim said, "You can tell Sam, it's safe, I promise you that."

"No, I said, no!"

"Can you tell us anything about them, Ashley, anything at all?" Sam said.

A voice in the back of my head wanted me to say something. That little pessimistic voice was saying I'll die anyways, and to just tell them. I opened my mouth to speak but quickly closed it.

Sam and the others looked at me with an eager look in their eyes.

"I-I'll only tell you, Sam. The others have to leave," I said. This will save the others from being killed, but now Sam will die. Emily will be devastated.

I tear rolled down my cheek, prematurely crying for his death.

The others began to file out of the room, all heading out the back door.

After the last person left, shutting the door behind them, I looked up to Sam. He looked at me expectantly as I took a big breath to tell him all I knew.

"Um, what did you want to know again?" I asked timidly.

"You could start from the beginning," Sam suggested.

"Okay," I said. "We stopped at a twenty-four-hour gas station so Dad could fill up the car and so Emily could go to the bathroom, b-because she didn't go at the last rest stop. So Dad was filling up the car, with Emily in the store, and Mom, Jasmine and I sitting in the car.

"That's when the man came up to Dad. His name is Gary and he has tan skin and brown hair, and he's really strong. Gary said something to Dad, I don't know what, but as he was putting the-the nozzle back into the pump, Gary reached over and g-grabbed him by the neck," I took a deep breath to calm myself, then continued, "and he just… snapped it. Both Jasmine and I saw him, we were sitting in the very back seat of the van. We started screaming in fear.

"Mom asked what was wrong and started to turn around to look at us, but before she could her door was ripped off of the car and she disappeared from her seat. Jasmine was still screaming at the man while I was looking for where Mom went.

"She was being held by this really pale brunette woman, named Mary, and she was… she was biting Mom's neck." My eyes welled up with tears and I raised a hand to my eyes. Sam slowly moved to sit down on the couch, not too close but not that far away. "Mary had a hand over her mouth to keep her quiet I guess, so the people in the station wouldn't hear. That's when Emily came out. Sh-she had no idea," I sobbed. "She had been running to the car with a smile on her face, but that was until she realized everything. Before she could say a thing, Gary was behind her r-ripping her head off." I was crying freely now and Sam had moved closer to me to wrap a comforting arm around my shoulders. I took his offer of comfort and leaned my head against his shoulder.

"Em-Emily's body fell to the ground and Mary appeared by Gary and they… they started _making out_," I said disgusted, "right next to my sister's dead body. Once they were done kissing they began to drink from Emily. That's when Jasmine tried to get out of the car, probably to t-try to st-stop them, but I held her back. I told her to be quiet, and that they might forget about us.

"I knew I was l-lying to her then, but it seemed to help. She was still crying and shaking, and I held onto her tightly, crying with her as she kept c-crying for Dad and Mom.

"A few minutes passed as they d-drank from Emily's body… Then, all of a sudden the rear door was ripped off and Gary was standing there, with a c-crazy ass grin on his face. He grabbed both of us by our h-hair and y-yanked us over the seat and o-onto the asphalt behind the car.

"He shoved J-Jasmine over to Mary who was, waiting by the side of the car… They were both _l-laughing_ as we both started to scream. Mary was smiling at me as she grabbed Jasmine's hair and pulled her head over to the side, clearly sh-showing her neck.

"I tr-tried my h-hardest to get away f-from… Gary then, b-but Gary held me tightly to his chest as Mary slowly l-lowered her head to… to J-Jasmine's neck." I turned my face to Sam's shoulder and just cried. Sam made soothing noises as he gently rubbed my shoulder. He didn't force me to continue, he just waited for me to cry myself out.

After a few minutes, after my crying subsided, Sam asked gently, "Do you want to stop?"

"No, I-I'll finish," I said.

"Just take a deep breath," he said.

I took several before continuing on with my story.

"When Mary began to suck her blood, Jasmine began screaming. She screamed for Mary to stop. When Mary didn't Jasmine started yelling for me to help her…" I paused for a moment, thinking. "I guess they got rid of the clerk or he would have heard us by then… Anyways, jasmine started to-to spazz out and… well eventually she was dead, probably drained dry.

"Then, I just waited for Gary to start drinking my blood, but he never did. I think he-he told me something along the lines of saving me as a snack for later. The two of them kissed again as I was still being held by Gary.

"Once they were done, Mary took me from Gary and threw me over her shoulder. I s-screamed and yelled for her to let me down. How she was a bitch and a whore for killing my family. After more insults to her and her boyfriend or whatever she threw me down to the ground and started to beat me up… might I mention that she threw me down as she was running super-fast.

"Anyways, after she was done beating me up, she tied me to a tree. Using some brand new rope Gary threw to her. She tied me so tightly it almost felt like I was wearing one of those- those corset thingys. They left me there for hours.

"Then the two of them came back. I learned their names and Gary told me his little deal. I could choose to be hunted by the pair for ten hours or for a day. I chose a day and they… they let me go.

"I ran all the way back here. It took me a while, but I made it back," I finished.

"Ashley, I'm so sorry," Sam said. "I'm sorry that you had to go through that, but you're safe now, with us."

I shook my head. "No, Sam, you have no idea-"

"-Don't worry about it Ashley. We can handle those two," Sam interrupted.

"But Sam," I said.

"We've got it covered Ashley. Don't worry," Sam said. He pulled his arm from my shoulder and shifted a bit away from me. "And also know that I will always be here for you. I'll listen to anything you have to say, and so will the others."

I looked doubtfully down at my hands.

"Ashley," Sam said, asking for me to look back up at him.

When I did look up, I saw kindness and compassion in his eyes.

"There will always be someone here who will listen and care about you, don't doubt that. Now, do you want Kim to come back?"

"Yes," I said quietly.

It felt strange for Sam to seem so passionate as he spoke to me. He hardly ever new me, yet he was opening up his arms to me. I couldn't help but be thankful to Sam.

"Hey, Sam?" I called as he opened the back door.

"Yes?" He said, slightly turning around.

"Thank you," I said.

Sam gave me a small smile before leaving out the back door.

Kim quickly came inside and asked if I needed anything. I told her that I was hungry and she got busy preparing some food.

XoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoX

By the time Kim had set a plate with a salad and a sandwich on the table in front of me, only Emily and Jared had come back inside.

I looked over at Jared who I could tell was trying to look at everything but me as he sat at the end of the table. I smiled a little as he stared up at the ceiling then over to the kitchen where Kim was making food for Jared. His eyes darted back to the ceiling then to the table top.

I forked some lettuce leaves drenched in Italian dressing and took a bite as Jared's eyes quickly slid past me to the family area. My smile widened as Jared continued to not look anywhere near me.

A giggle escaped my lips and I quickly raised my hand to cover my mouth.

Jared looked over to me, his eyes widening before looking away.

I swallowed my food and spoke to Jared. "I'm I ugly to you or something?"

Jared looked back over to me, surprised.

"Or are you scared that if you look at me for a second I'll be offended?" I continued.

"Uhh, no, I just-" Jared stuttered.

"-Here you go Jared," Kim said, interrupting Jared as she put a plate with four sandwiches in front of him.

"Thanks Kim," Jared said.

Kim sat down next to Jared, leaving an empty seat between her and me. We ate in silence for the next few minutes until someone walked in through the back door.

"Hey, guys," the boy greeted.

"Hello, Seth," Kim said.

He began to make something in the kitchen and I returned my attention to my food.

Two more guys came in then.

"Hey, Seth, can you make me some sandwiches?" One asked, taking the one seat on the short end of the table.

"No, make your own Quil," Seth said. "Same goes for you Embry."

I heard a snort from behind me and I turned slightly to look at Embry. His eyes flickered down to look at me and he froze. His eyes filled with happiness and joy. He took a small step closer to me when he blinked. Then he slowly raised his right hand as if to touch me.

I looked quizzically at Embry. _Why was he looking at me so strangely?_

A chair squeaked against the floor and I quickly turned back around to see Jared rising out of his chair.

"Embry?" Jared said sternly. "Did you…?"

"Yeah," Embry said, sitting in the seat next to me.

Jared gave Embry a warning look. I looked over at Embry to see that he was looking straight back at me. I quickly looked down at my plate and forked the last bit of salad, and shoved it in my mouth.

I didn't dare look back up at Embry. There was no need to see his eyes again, I'd seen all the emotion in them in that one look; filled with love and caring. I knew for sure that he was feeling that way to me; I knew this because it felt like he was looking right into my soul with those warm, brown eyes of his.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: So this chapter starts during chapter 1 because I wanted to show Embry's POV on the imprinting and on the wolf pack's reaction to Ashley. & I tried my best of getting into a guys' head, and I'm sorry if it doesn't sound realistic.**

**Songs**

**Unseen – Katie Armiger**

**Ashley – Escape the Fate**

Chapter 2

**Embry POV**

I pulled my shorts off and folded them up to stuff it under the band around my right ankle. I hated the fact that I always had to take a little break whenever I had patrol with Leah, but it was necessary sometimes. She always seemed to find a way to annoy me. I phased back just as Jacob called out to the pack and told us to meet up at Sam's house.

I quickly ran over to Sam's house, wondering what Jacob was going to tell us all. We only officially met at Sam's house once a month to discuss the vamps we've run into (none) and to discuss new patrol times.

I stopped in the woods behind Sam's house and phased back into a human. I pulled on my shorts and walked into the back yard to see Jacob standing in the middle of the yard as the wolves from Sam's pack filed out of his house, including Emily and Kim.

"Hey, Jake," I said, making my way to Jacob's side as the others formed into a circle, "what's going on?"

"I found Ashley Conweller just outside the border smelling like a leech," Paul answered. "She was a complete mess and now she's inside telling Sam what ended up happening to her and her family."

"Why isn't her family here?" Quil asked, taking a place on my right.

"Because they're dead," Hunter stated. He had his arms crossed over his chest and was staring at the ground, like it was the saddest thing in the world.

"Who's dead?" Leah asked, taking a spot next to Quill in our little circle.

"Shhh!" Jared shushed.

That's when I noticed the small voice coming from inside the house.

"…so Dad was filling up the car, with Emily in the store, and Mom, Jasmine and I sitting in the car."

"Huh?" Seth said. Leah reached up and smacked him in the back of the head.

"Quiet," Leah whispered.

"… Gary said something to Dad, I don't know what, but he was putting the—the nozzle back into the pump, Gary reached over and g-grabbed him by the neck," there was a pause before Ashley continued, "and he just… snapped it…"

I sucked in a breath, _what the hell? She was going to talk about how her family just died?_ I glanced around to see the other's faces. Some showed shock and horror, sadness, and indifference.

"…She was being held by this really pale brunette woman, named Mary, and she was… she was biting Mom's neck…"

Holy shit. She knew, and she had to find out from those leeches killing her family. I felt so bad for her now; I couldn't imagine the hurt and sadness she was going through right now. Ashley seemed like such a sweet girl, the few times I saw her when she still went to the tribal school. She began to talk about her little sister named Emily and I automatically looked over at Emily, who was looking sadly at the house.

"…Before she could say a thing, Gary was behind her r-ripping her head off."

I felt my eyes bug out. This girl has gotta be traumatized. She has seen nothing of the super natural world, and now the first thing she learns is about crazy, sadistic vampires.

"…they started _making out,_ right next to my sister's dead body. Once they were done kissing they began to drink from Emily. That's when Jasmine tried to get out of the car, probably to t-try to st-stop them, but I held her back. I told her to be quiet, and that they might forget about us.

"I knew I was l-lying to her then, but it seemed to help. She was still crying and shaking and I held onto her tightly, crying with her as she kept c-crying for Dad and Mom…"

I looked over at Jake to see his face filled with anger. My guess was that he was mad at the vampires and also (knowing Jake) he was beating himself over it in some way.

I returned my attention back to Ashley's voice as she started talking about her and Jasmine.

"He shoved J-Jasmine over to Mary who was, waiting by the side of the car…They were both _l-laughing_ as we both started to scream. Mary was smiling at me as she grabbed Jasmine's hair and pulled her head over to the side, clearly sh-showing her neck."

I felt so much sympathy for this girl. I had a strong urge to go in and comfort her, to help her in some small way.

"…held me tightly to his chest as Mary slowly l-lowered her head to… to J-Jasmine's neck."

"Shit dude, that's horrible," Finn said as Ashley began to cry.

Collin nodded his head in agreement.

"Hunter, are you OK?" Quil asked.

Hunter nodded his head. "I'm fine, I'm just glad that I hadn't imprinted on her, or else I would be… I don't know – not like this."

Despite Hunter's 'I'm fine' front, we all knew he was still hurting inside. Jasmine was the perfect girl for Hunter to be with if he never ended up imprinting, she was Quileute obviously but she was really smart _and_ pretty.

Listening in on the conversation between Sam and Ashley, I was surprised that she said she would continue on with her story.

"When Mary began to suck her blood, Jasmine began screaming. She screamed for Mary to stop. When Mary didn't Jasmine started yelling for me to help her…" There was a pause. "I guess they got rid of the clerk or he would have heard us by then… Anyways, Jasmine started to-to spazz out and… well eventually she was dead, probably drained dry.

"Then, I just waited for Gary to start drinking my blood, but he never did. I think he-he told me something along the lines of saving me as a snack for later. The two of them kissed again as I was still being held by Gary.

"Once they were done, Mary took me from Gary and threw me over her shoulder. I s-screamed and yelled for her to let me down. How she was a bitch and a whore for killing my family. After more insults to her and her boyfriend or whatever she threw me down to the ground and started to beat me up… might I mention that she threw me down as she was running super-fast."

A chorus of growls sounded throughout the group. This story was getting really bad, and all us werewolf's were definitely pumped to find and kill these two leeches Ashley had met. They had hell to pay for killing an innocent family.

"…She tied me so tightly it almost felt like I was wearing one of those—those corset thingys. They left me there for hours.

"Then the two of them came back. I learned their names and Gary told me his little deal. I could choose to be hunted by the pair for ten hours or for a day. I chose a day and they… they let me go.

"I ran all the way back here. It took me a while, but I made it back," Ashley finished.

"Ashley, I'm so sorry," Sam said. "I'm sorry that you had to go through that, but you're safe now, with us."

I couldn't agree any more, if I ever got my hands on those leeches, I was going to tear them into tiny little pieces.

"So," Jacob said, "within the next day those two leeches will be coming to La Push, and we have to be ready. I want everybody to be running on patrol for the next 24 hours, is that OK with everyone?"

We all nodded our heads.

"So we'll have the people on normal patrols along with four other people. One will be joining the outer line while the remaining three will be running the inner patrol line," Jacob ordered.

Sam came out of the house then, calling for Kim. "Ashley wants you back inside."

Kim pulled herself from under Jared's arm and ran up the porch steps and into the house.

Sam walked over to our circle and stood opposite Jacob. "Ashley is extremely sensitive right now. Watch what you say and do around her. And be _nice_," Sam looked over at Paul as he said the last part.

Paul rolled his eyes. "Fine, whatever, I won't even be near her if you want – I just want to kill those leeches!"

The young wolves voiced their agreement.

"Yeah!"

"We'll _finally_ be able to sink our teeth into some vamps."

"Hell yeah!"

"Alright, quiet. So what is our plan Jacob?" Sam said.

This was always the weird part of our joint meetings, Sam giving all the power over to Jacob. It was all done in attempt to prepare both Sam and Jacob to join the two packs together. Sam would submit to Jacob and become _second ranked_ in the pack, aka Beta. Jake would have all the power over the pack, a very large pack numbering sixteen.

The main reason why we were doing this was because we had learned our lesson when Collin had caught scent of a vamp, heading towards Quil's part of the patrol line. Because there was no way for the two separate packs to communicate, the vampire nearly got a way.

So now we were planning to join the two packs together at the end of the month.

"Four more people will be put on patrol. One will join the others running the outer line while the other three will run the inner line," Jacob said.

Sam nodded his agreement. "And who will those four people be?"

"I'll run outer and you, Brady and Tyson will run inner, but not for the next couple of hours I think we'll be safe until then." Jacob looked over at Leah, Seth, Quil and I. "You three can go back and finish up your shift."

We turned away from the group and went into the woods. I quickly stripped down, well away from Leah. Holding onto my shorts, I threw them onto a low hanging branch – planning on coming back later. There was only less than a half hour left of my shift. I turned and phased into a wolf.

_I feel so bad for her,_ I heard Seth think through our bond.

_You got that right_, Leah said.

The four of us returned to our places around the reservation and finished up our patrol.

_Wanna go back to Emily's?_ Quil asked.

_Sure!_ Seth agreed.

_You boys have fun, I'm going back home,_ Leah said.

_Whatever,_ I said.

I quickly ran back to Sam's house so I could get myself some food. Seth was just walking out of the woods when Quil and I got there.

We both phased back and got dressed before heading into the house.

"Hey, Seth, can you make me some sandwiches?" Quil asked, taking the one seat on the short end of the table opposite Jared.

"No, make your own Quil," Seth said. "Same goes for you Embry."

I snorted, like I _wanted_ Seth to make me anything. I was hoping that Emily would.

Ashley turned around in her seat to look at me. I glanced down at her, then froze.

It felt like some strong force was attaching us together, creating the firmest tie to her and I felt a burst of emotion through the bond; pain, hurt, loneliness and despair. This girl was hurting and the bond was tugging at me showing that I needed to get closer to her. I needed to make her better, and I needed to make her feel happy and loved. This girl was my imprint. My imprint was in pain right now, and I'd give anything to make her better.

I was ecstatic as well; I had found the person who is to be my mate. I had found what my all of my friends had found, I had found – essentially – my other half.

And I really wanted to be holding my other half right now. I slowly lifted my right hand wanting to touch her, but I realized I had to restrain myself. She was going through a lot right now and I had to be sure I was careful, so I wouldn't get her upset or uncomfortable.

"Embry?" Jared said sternly. "Did you…?"

"Yeah…" I answered, taking the seat between her and Quil.

I turned my head slightly to look at Ashley, the girl who I now loved and who I would care for forever.

She glanced over at me for a second before turning back to her food. She forked the last bit of lettuce into her mouth and chewed.

I felt a frown touch my face. _Why wasn't she having her sandwich? Did she think she was fat? She most certainly wasn't._ I tried to push my warring thoughts, brought on by the fresh imprint, aside. If felt a little weird to be worrying about her all of a sudden.

Jared got up and put his plate in the sink. He came back over to me and placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Outside, now," Jared whispered.

I was about to respond with a snarky reply when Jared squeezed my shoulder, _hard_. I held in a grunt of pain and got up from my seat and followed behind Jared as he left through the back door.

"OK, what is it Jared? Why do you have to drag me outside?" I complained. Rotating the shoulder Jared had squeezed.

"Because you need a rundown on how imprinting works," Jared answered.

"I know how it works idiot, it just happened!" I said.

"True, but Ashley has no idea what is going on. You need to act normally around her, don't smother her – especially after what happened," Jared explained. "She hasn't entered into the supe' world in a good way. She just saw her family die in the hands of vampires not even twenty four hours ago. She doesn't need you to confuse her any more than she already is.

"She will probably need a friend more than anything right now. She has Kim, but I'm sure you could bond with her in some way. But… just don't force it. You'll want to move pretty fast in comparison to what she wants or needs, you just have to learn to be patient."

"OK," I said, glancing back at the house.

"_Embry_," Jared said.

"_What?_"

"Are you sure you understand?'

"Yes, I do, Jared. Go slow, she's been through enough shit, don't force it and I can only be her friend," I responded. "I heard you, now can we go back inside?"

Jared eyed me for a moment, probably gauging if I was ready enough. Without waiting for permission from Jared I quickly made my way back into the house.

Jared called my name as I opened the back door, but I didn't pay any attention. Walking to the dining table I heard the sweetest sound in the world, Ashley's laughter. It wasn't a real laugh, but it _was_ a giggle. She was giggling at Quil and Seth and their childish antics. Right then, I for once was happy of their bickering.

"Quil, you're such and idiot."

"I'm not the idiot, you are."

"Well I'm not dumb, and Emily for sure was giving that sandwich to _me_," Seth said, reaching across the table to grab one of the sandwiches off of Quil's plate.

Quil quickly moved his plate out of reach and huddled protectively over it while taking another large bite of his sandwich.

"_Emily_, can you make me another sandwich?" Seth whined.

Emily turned to Seth, smiling. "Even if I make you another sandwich, Seth, you'll still ask for another one when you're finished."

"Still, I'm hungry," Seth whined, making a puppy-dog face at Emily.

Ashley giggled again. I slowly made my way over to the seat at Ashley's left, and sat down. Her eyes trailed away from Seth and over to me.

"Hey, your name is Embry, right?"

I nodded my head. "Yeah."

"Good, I remembered. It's been a long time since I last saw you," She commented, glancing around the room. "You're all juniors now?"

Quil gave her a small grin. "Yup, Embry and I are, Seth's a sophomore."

"Oh, yeah," Ashley said, letting the conversation drift off.

"Here you go Seth," Emily said, handing Seth a sandwich.

"Thanks, Emily," Seth said, before chowing down on his sandwich.

Ashley finished off her sandwich and rose from her seat to put away the dish. Through the imprint I was able to tell that she was in discomfort, despite the weak bond between us. She walked across the kitchen and placed her plate in the sink. When she turned on the water, Emily looked over at Ashley.

"You don't need to do the dishes Ashley, one of the boys can do it," Emily said, pulling out another two slices from a loaf of bread.

Ashley stiffly nodded her head. With Emily focused on preparing food and the boys intent on their food, I was the only one to notice her place a tentative hand on her chest and take a slow and deep breath, wincing as she did.

"Are you OK Ashley?" I asked concerned. She quickly looked over at me, surprised. I held myself back from running over her to help, noticing the pain in her eyes.

"Yeah… I think so," Ashley responded slowly.

Emily put down the knife she was using and walked to Ashley's side. "Did they hurt you?" she questioned.

Ashley nodded and Emily placed an arm around her shoulders to lead her away, "You need to go to the hospital then and get checked out."

"Say she got beat up Em," Seth said lowly to Emily. She gave a nod to him knowing to give the cover-up instead of the real story. "I'll tell Sam where you're going," Seth said, finishing off his sandwich and getting up from his seat to leave through the back door.

"Thanks Seth," Emily called, grabbing her keys off the key-ring.

I could hear Ashley huff out a breath after making it down the steps, and I began to really worry about how badly she was injured. She had seemed perfectly fine physically, maybe a little… beaten up but it didn't seem like anything was broken. Emily's Honda started up and I ran out the back door, planning on meeting them at the hospital.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: I apologize for the long wait for this chapter, but the priority ranking of this story got bumped up, so this story should be getting updates at least once a month give or take a few days. Always remember, be a kind person and leave a review! I wanna know if people are still interested in this story.**

**(OH! Side Note: If you would like to beta this story, message me! Cuz I can get one now that I'll have regular updates)**

Chapter 3

**ASHLEY POV**

It was probably a combination of things that had kept my attention away from my injuries. There was the relief of being 'free' and seeing my cousin, who I never expected to see again after what happened. Then I was able to get clean and relax in the soothing warm water, and my focus had been on the sensation of the warm droplets hitting my skin. All those things had pulled my attention from my bruised and battered body. Now, since all my necessities had been met, I was beginning to realize the pain in my chest once again. It wasn't mind shattering pain, but it was very distracting.

I glanced over at Emily who had a concerned look on her face.

"Are we going over to the clinic or to Forks?" I asked quietly.

"We'll head over to the clinic first. They'll tell if you need to go to Fork's Hospital," Emily said.

"… I can't believe I didn't think about you being hurt. I apologize, that should've been the first thing I helped with, and making sure you were alright." Emily sighed and pulled the car into the lot in front of the clinic.

I looked over at Emily as she got out of the car. She walked around the car and opened up my door. "Emily," I said.

"I'm always the one with the watchful eye…,"Emily scolded herself, as she helped me out of the car, though I didn't need it.

"_Emily_," I said again.

Emily stopped her rambling to look at me. "Yes?"

"You should stop being such a worry wart so young, Emily. I'll survive," I said. _If I've made it this far I'll be able to get through anything_, I thought to myself.

Emily laughed as we walked over to the front door of the clinic. "And I think you're a little too old to be calling people worry warts. How old are you?"

I smiled. "Twenty-two."

"Ahaah, twenty-two and a sophomore in college…" Emily said. She pushed open the door for me and I walked in.

In front of me one of the nurses was leaning against the counter and talking to the secretary at the main desk. I recognized them both because I had spent a good year volunteering my time here. They were going to be overly concerned about what had happened to me, even if they shouldn't be. They both looked over at me and instantly recognized me.

"Ashley!" Nurse Helen crowed and walked over to me, quickly pulling me into a hug.

"H-hi, Helen," I stuttered, in surprise and pain.

"Is something wrong?" Helen asked, having had heard the strangeness of my voice. She stopped hugging me but still firmly held onto my arms.

"Hello Helen," Emily said, intervening. "Sadly, Ashley here is actually here to be admitted."

"Admitted?" Helen said. In her surprise her grip on my shoulders loosened, I took a good sized step back and crossed my arms in front of me.

"Yes, she got in a pretty bad fight and we just want to be sure nothing got damaged," Emily said smoothly, not piquing any worry.

Emily caught my eye and silently communicated that I wasn't to tell what actually happened to me.

"Well that's no problem," Helen said ushering me away from Emily and through a set of doors.

She quickly went through the paces of admitting me as I sat on the front edge of a hospital. Helen and I were the only conscious ones in the room and that helped me feel not that uncomfortable.

VVVMVMVWWVMVMVVV

"Alright, Ashley, let's check you out now. What hurts the most right now?" Helen asked.

I raised a hand to rest on my chest. "My ribs."

"OK, then." Helen began to check my chest and I was just waiting for the little the little gasp when she saw.

"Hmm. Can you tell me what you did exactly to cause this?" Helen asked. The question wasn't entirely for medical reasons; she must really be worrying about what I had gotten myself into over the past two years.

"Like Emily said I got in a fight. I can't exactly tag what had caused this…," I answered vaguely.

Helen nodded as she continued about checking my other injuries that I had listed out for her.

VVVMVMVWWVMVMVVV

Turned out I had three fractured ribs, and plenty of cuts and bruises all over my body to last me a lifetime.

I stood in front of the bathroom mirror, holding my shirt up and looking at my cleaned up torso. I turned around and looked over my shoulder to see my back which had a ragged scar that ran from just below my left shoulder all the way down to my lower back. This scar was the worst of them all; my best guess of how I _really_ had gotten it was one of the times Mary had thrown me into a tree.

I let go of my shirt and shivered. They were still out there, probably fucking each other or some shit. Hey, maybe they were killing some other family for funsies.

"Teeheehehee," I said, fixing my shirt. I made eye-contact with myself in the mirror, and saw the fear and pain in my own eyes. "Fuck!" I shouted, slamming my hand into the wall.

Pain shot through my arm and I instantly regretted my impulse. I may be pissed about everything but that didn't mean I needed to take it out on a wall.

There was a knock on the bathroom door. "Ashley, are you OK?" Helen asked through the door.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," I said quickly, not wanting her to come in. "I just got some water on my shirt!"

I turned the faucet on and splashed some water on my shirt, turning my lie into a truth.

"Oh, alright, just making sure you're not hurting yourself there," Helen said.

I dried my hands off again and then left the bathroom into the waiting area. I didn't expect to see one of the boys standing by Emily as she sat and waited for me. I couldn't tell who it was exactly, they had all changed a lot from the last time I saw them. Even though I knew I was safe with them all, I couldn't help to be somewhat intimidated by them, they were just so freaking tall – and that's saying something, because I've always been the tall one looking down at people.

"Are you all set to go now?" Emily said, rising from her seat.

"Yep," I answered.

The boy, who I now realized was Embry, shifted from foot to foot, and I began to wonder why he was even here. It's not like he _actually _cared about me and my well-being. _He's a _boy _after all, _I thought, _Kim probably sent him._

"Kim started to get worried after a while and she sent me to check up on you. It's good to hear that you're alright," Embry said.

I nodded and turned around to leave out the way we came. I could hear Emily hustle over to me as I passed through the front doors. Perhaps I had just been rude, but I was getting the strangest vibe off of Embry and I didn't need another thing to pile on top of all the shit I had to deal with. I slowed down for the sake of Emily, who was half a foot shorter than me, but didn't expect Embry to come up on my left. I was tempted to shoot him a glare to get him to go away so I didn't have to think about him, but that would be rude and just not me.

We all got in the car and Emily drove the car off the lot, and back to her house.

I was tempted to peek over my shoulder to get another look at Embry. He was currently taking up a lot of brain space right now. Like, if he was taking a car back, how did he even get here? And, how can an eighteen-year-old look so damn sexy? I mean, I played the field in college and I can't remember seeing any guy that looked anything close to the **G** who was sitting in the backseat. I tucked my hair behind my ear and leaned my head against the cool glass window.

"Did Helen tell you how to take care of yourself? Any pain medications?" Emily questioned.

I lifted my head, and turned to look over at Emily. "I'm sure she told you mamma bear."

Emily smirked. "Well, did she?"

"Yes. But I'm hesitant about taking the prescribed pills because of the side effects," I answered.

"What's the prescription for?" Emily asked.

"Vicadin," I said.

"Ooo, partaay to-night!" Embry said, bouncing up and down hard enough to shake the car.

I turned around in my seat and Embry stopped screwing around. I looked him up and down, noting every detail about him; his hair, his clothes and physique. By looks he seems to be in his early twenties, sad thing was that there was an eighteen-year-olds juvenile brain in that body. I turned back around in my seat and scoffed. "So immature."

Emily parked the car in her drive and I noticed that there was a third car in the driveway. As I got out of the car, the front door to the house burst open. I quickly turned to face the person who was stomping down the steps and over to me.

"Uncle Fra-?" Was all I managed to get out before my uncle Frank crushed me in a hug.

I groaned at the force he was using, and I just wanted him to let go of me, but he just wouldn't. He tightened his grip on me as I started to squirm. My heartbeat quickened as my mind made a connection of this feeling to one had had while I was under Mary and Gary's care.

"Mr. Connweller, Ashley has some fractured ribs and it would be best if you would let go right now," Emily said. I heard her voice get louder as she quickly made her way around the car over to my side.

"Oh, I'm sorry Ashley," Uncle Frank said apologetically in his deep voice. He let go of me, but I had to grab onto one of his arms to steady myself. "We just got a call from the police saying what happened, and that they couldn't find you at the… ah… scene."

"I-it-it's Ok Un-cle Frank," I stuttered. Damn! My ribs were _really _hurting right now; I could barely catch a full breath. I couldn't help the sad whimper-like sounds I was making due to the pain. As I was concentrating on the simple act of breathing, I saw that people were beginning to enclose around me and I didn't like that –my hazy vision was enough to cause me to freak out. I broke my contact with Uncle Frank and pushed past the large bodies to get out. I felt a tear trickle down my face and just realized my watery eyes were the cause of my blurry vision –not just the pain.

My family was all talking at once at me, or at least it seemed that way to me. Did they know they were so loud? I was making my way over to the house and sat down on the first step. I first leaned forward but that made it harder to breathe, so instinctively laid back, my head and neck coming to rest on the porch. My mouth was opened wide as I got my first full breath of air. Someone placed their large hand on my shoulder and I decided to put my full breath to immediate use.

"Stoooooop!"

Full breath number two, and then number three…

"Alone," I said. Full breath number four, number five, six. "That's what…I need…No talking…no touching…just…"

"…"

They were all quiet now, waiting for the traumatized injured girl to finish.

"…this sucks so bad…," I finished.

No one moved or said anything for a long moment. Then I heard footsteps walk across the wood chips to stop by my feet.

"Ashley, darling, do you want to come with your uncle and I to rest at our house?" Aunt Donna said.

"Yes, I'd love that Aunt Donna," I said, still looking up at the roof of the porch.

"Do you want some help up?" Aunt Donna asked sweetly.

"Yes please," I said.

Aunt Donna took hold of my right hand and I lifted my head to see her stand up from a crouch on my right. I raised my left hand and she took hold of that hand as well, shuffling over to stand more in front of me. She pulled and I pulled, and I was hoisted up to my full 5" 11' stature. I slung my right arm around her shoulders and she led me over to her car. I got into the back seat of the SUV as Aunt Donna called out for Kim. Uncle Frank was already seated in the driver's seat and Aunt Donna got in the passenger seat. Kim came running over to the car and hopped into the back seat with me, closing the door behind her.

Sensing that they were all apprehensive of saying anything because of my words earlier, I broke the silence before it could start.

"I apologize for my outburst, I just had an overload of things and I just couldn't deal with it," I said calmly.

Kim reached out to take hold of my hand. "Its fine Ash… you know, I have never seen all those boys shut up so quick." A small smile spread across her face and I smiled back.

When neither of her parents said anything I kept my sole focus on Kim. "So who were all those boys, Kimmy? I never imagined I'd find the likes of you in a gaggle of cute boys."

Kim laughed, but quickly quieted herself. "Hmm, well I never thought that I would, in your words, in gaggle of boys."

"Hmm… Are you still with Mr. J?" I said, using Jared's codename that we had used when we talked over the phone or in her parents' hearing.

"Yes, I am," Kim said, her face softening at the mention of her sweet boyfriend.

Kim doesn't know how sweet he really is. From the stories that she has told me of Jared, he really is _the _sweetest and nicest guy in the world. In the guy department, she got the top model; considerate, caring and freshly made abs. No joke, she sent me a picture of her and Jared at the beach, and let's just say that once that my two roommates saw the picture they desperately wanted to have it blown up to life-size. If my mind wasn't occupied by such dark things right now, I would definitely be entertaining the thought of how the other boys had 'grown up' since I last saw them shirtless for the rest of the car ride.

VVVMVMVWWVMVMVVV

Aunt Donna showed me the spare room and told me to find her if I needed anything. I thanked her and watched her as she left the room and closed the door softly behind her. I eventually turned to take a full survey of the room, which was probably the room Kim's older brother Bobby had before he went off to college and made a real life for himself. Moving over to one of the windows in the room, I pulled up one of the blinds. Woods. Right outside my window.

I was suddenly hit with the fear of being found in the house. I didn't want the rest of my family to be killed because of me. Glancing over my shoulder over to the door, I pictured where everyone else might be. Kim might be in her room, Uncle Frank and Aunt Donna sitting around the dining room table discussing the topic of me. My imagination painted the disturbing picture of what could happen if Mary and Gary came storming in here this second. There would be screaming, lots and lots of screaming –gurgling if their throats were being torn apart—I wasn't even sure if the neighbors would be able to hear if I yelled at the top of my lungs right now. Even if they were able to hear, I highly doubt they would do anything. They might just dismiss it with a little explanation and return to their current tasks.

I shut the blinds and went over to the bed.

_Just lie down and be calm_, thought to myself. I took deep breaths one by one, trying to calm myself down and thinking peaceful, happy thoughts. Slowly my breaths became shallower and my thoughts began to blur together as drifted off to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hello! So I'm still up for a beta for this story… Just sayin'. Also, you'll note that this is in Embry's POV, I want to tell you all that this is not one of those stories that keeps switching POVs every chapter. I've never really liked that as a reader so I try not to do that as a writer. Part of this chapter is in Embry's POV for the sole purpose of having a Wolf's POV.**

**Oh and if any of you were wondering, the songs I list are just three that I listen two while I write as well as song suggestions.**

**VersaEmerge – Stranger**

**Cody Simpson - Iyiyi**

Chapter 4

**Embry POV**

Almost everybody was out now patrolling, the other half was asleep. The twenty four hour limit Ashley spoke of was almost up and we were all expecting them to come through any moment now. I was running the outer loop with Leah and Jacob, while Sam and his pack was running a tighter loop with the Connweller's house as its center. It was nearly midnight and the switch off for patrols was an hour away. I hoped the two vampires would come before my shift ended so I would be able to take them down myself.

_You got that right_, Leah said, breaking the relatively silent mind-bond.

Most were focused on patrol and any little scent of a vampire.

VVVMVMVWWVMVMVVV

_Guys! Jared caught scent on the east end,_ Jacob told us, passing the info on.

Both Leah and I turned and headed to where Jake had directed us.

_He caught it on the north side of his line,_ Jake added.

I kicked my speed up a bit more knowing she was closer to me than Leah. I ran for it, going off the trail and cutting straight through to where I could hear the howls. Once I caught the scent, I followed that. The trail split off, probably when they had caught scent of us and I took the one that forked to the right. There was a high pitched screech as I was able to catch sight of Sam, Jared, and Collin taking apart one of the vamps.

I joined the others at taking apart the vamp.

"Mary!" The vamp shouted. "Mary! Come _help me!_"

He smacked Collin hard to get him away from his one remaining arm and Colin flew through the trees until he made solid contact with one. I lunged forward and locked my jaws around his right leg and yanked at it. The vampire brought its fist down on my head and I let go, stars filling my vision. Backing up I glanced around and saw another wolf jump in and join us, but it wasn't Collin. I looked for him and saw that he was still lying at the bottom of the tree he had hit against. I hesitated for a second, wondering if I should do a quick check to see if he was OK. I turned to go over but then thought that since the other members of his pack weren't checking on him, they must be able to hear his thoughts.

Something hit my rear and made me fall end over end. It was Hunter and he too was thrown by the vamp. I got myself back up and was taken down by another vamp. It was his mate that he had been calling for. She had talked me and she was trying to wind her arms around my squirming body.

There was another screech from the vampire as another body part was ripped off.

"Mary! Save yourself!" He was nearly gone now, the others just had to rip his head off and he was done.

"But Gary!" Mary shouted.

She must have been distracted because I was finally able to get out of her grip. I turned around and raked my claws against the hard skin of her face. She screamed and ran away. I followed her, with Hunter following right behind me. I could hear some of the others follow shortly behind us.

Leah and Jake joined the group ahead of us. Leah pulled ahead of Jake as I took a spot to his left flank. If Leah couldn't catch her we surely would lose her. Half of Sam's pack broke off.

_They're dropping back to tell the imprints and calling the others to take first line _**(1)**_,_ Jake explained.

In one minute we had to stop because we had met the reaches of our border. Leah was pacing while she was waiting, panting hard.

_Fucking bitch!_ Leah seethed.

_You did well, Leah, but it's time to go back home and rest,_ Jake said.

Instead we all sat there for a moment, catching our breaths or thinking about a future encounter with the female vampire.

_I'm going to go back to Ashley_. I directed the thought over to Jake and he nodded.

I turned and headed for the Connweller's house.

VVVMVMVWWVMVMVVV

**ASHLEY POV**

My eyes wrenched open the second I woke up from my horrible nightmare. I felt extremely hot and there was a layer of sweat covering my body. I rolled all the way over to the other side of the bed to see the time. _How much longer did I have?_ Craning my neck I saw that it was three in the morning. What_?_ I thought. _This just couldn't be! It surely couldn't!_ I highly doubt that it would take her more than an hour to find me. But it was three o'clock in the morning, it was Tuesday and I was _alive_. Something had to have happened to them; some outside factor had to have contributed to me being alive right now.

I untangled myself from the sheets and went over to the same window I had looked out the other day. I had to give myself a long moment to gather up the courage to open the blinds. On the rational side of my brain I was thinking that there wouldn't be anything out there scary, just the woods. But I couldn't help but think that Mary and Gary could be out there waiting for me, or something just as scary. Nonetheless I pulled the cord to the shade, albeit slowly, to find the woods just beyond it. There was no scary monster, or vampire, or wolf, just a variety of evergreens and deciduous trees, along with a squirrel.

A smile tugged at the corners of my mouth.

_See?_ I thought to myself. _Everything's fine, or else the squirrel wouldn't be scampering out in the open. It would be hiding in its little home if there was a big scary predator around._ _Besides if there was anything out there that _had _come to my window during the night there would be tracks._

Just to back my reasoning I let my eyes wander the area. I could spot the tracks made by the squirrel as it had moved between the trees. The smile that had tried to form earlier bloomed across my face. The squirrel was probably moving between his stores of food, he probably had at least one full store completely out. Besides a few bird prints in the slush there wasn't any… other…

The smile fell from my face in a second. There was in fact one unwanted track (that is, unwanted by me). A blazingly clear track of a large dog print was a ways into the forest. The one clear print was just before a disturbed part of the slush of mud and old, melted snow. It looked like the large animal had sat or laid there. I couldn't help but think about the wolf I had seen the other day, the oversized paw could definitely been made by him or by another member of his subspecies. I backpedaled halfway across the room, and then ran forward to close the blinds. I quickly made my way out of the room and shut the door behind me.

I had the pathetic thought of running upstairs to Uncle Frank. But instead of heading upstairs I walked down the hallway to the bathroom. I flicked on the light switch and walked over to the sink then turned it on. Splashing my face with some cold water I tried to banish the remnants of my nightmares that had caused me to run out of the room.

My dream had started out completely normal, sad thing was that the rest of it was so bad that I couldn't remember much from the beginning, just the fact that I was happy. Then Gary and Mary had come into the picture and my dream was basically a recreation of my family's death but taken place in a campground. Then there was the weird transition between the foreign campground and the familiar woods of La Push where I had fallen through a hole near a tree and ended up rolling out of a hole in a bunch of boulders onto the wet ground of a clearing. The wolf I had seen before I had seen Paul and Hunter was there. He succeeded in doing what Gary and Mary didn't do with me.

I turned off the water and stood up straight to look at myself in the vanity mirror. I watched the water drip off my face, trying to think about nothing. Wiping a hand over my nose, I strongly wished that I could just wipe my mind clean. Or take some pill that made me forget the past day-and-a-half. Or that there was some re-do button. I'd just love to go back in time and tell my Dad to just keep going and that there would be another gas station eventually.

I bent my head forward as a wave of sadness and despair hit me. Letting out my first sob, I slowly lowered myself to the ground.

VVVMVMVWWVMVMVVV

"Whoah!"

I jerked awake and groaned.

"Ashley what are you doing?" Jared asked.

I slowly sat up and groaned again at the stiffness in my body from falling asleep on the unforgiving ceramic tile. I cracked my neck then stretched out my legs before looking up at Jared, who was standing in the entrance to the bathroom, holding open the door.

"Are you OK?" He asked quietly.

"Yes, I am. I may be very, very sore, but I'm OK." I said looking up at Jared.

He gave a slow nod of his head. "Um, why were you even in the bathroom asleep?"

I twisted my torso first right then left, my back cracking loudly. "Mmm, well how do you think I ended up in the bathroom Jared?"

"Uh, OK. Do you want me to leave? I could just-"

"It's all right; I'll just go back to my room." I stood up and did another show of cracking my neck, surprisingly still getting a few pops. Jared stepped back into the hallway and I walked past him into my room, closing the door behind me.

I threw myself onto my bed still feeling very tired. I had cried silently in the bathroom for what seemed like hours, but I could only guess as to how long I really spent crying on the bathroom floor. I snuggled into the sheets, wanting to relax because I was all worn out and sore. A knock sounded on the door and I half considered ignoring it.

The door creaked open and I stayed still on the bed. "Ashley?" Kim inquired quietly.

I could try and fake it, but I was beginning to realize that I was really hungry. "What?" I said.

"Do you want to come out and eat? I could bring down some of my clothes for you so you can get changed," Kim said.

I lifted my head from the sheets to see Kim standing just inside the room. I tried to smile for her in spite of my mood. "I'd really like that Kim. Could I take a shower too?"

"Sure, follow me upstairs," Kim said.

I got off of the bed and followed Kim up the stairs to the second floor. She showed me to the bathroom and told me that she'd be right back with some clothes. I turned on the shower and gave it a second to warm up. I moved to stand in front of the mirror and was startled to see my reflection. My hair was all frizzy and slightly mussed up, my under-eyes were dark and puffy, and my right cheek had a slight imprint of the tile I had slept on. I laughed out loud and rubbed a hand on my cheek, trying to get my skin back to normal.

Kim walked in and handed me her clothes. "I'll be right downstairs with Jared. You call if you need me."

I nodded and closed the door behind Kim. After placing the clothes on the counter I started to strip off my clothes. Tentatively, I made my way into the steaming shower. I sighed in relief before beginning to wash up with the products Kim had on the shelves.

VVVMVMVWWVMVMVVV

I put on the teal t-shirt over my head and pulled my hair out from under it, then pulled on the sweat pants. They looked more like capris on me. I rolled the bottom of it till just before my knees. Not wanting to use Kim's brush, I ran my fingers through my hair, getting a few tangles out as I walked out of the bathroom.

My stomach was full on complaining about not having anything in it, so I sped down the stairs and straight past Kim and Jared. They both looked up at me and I felt their eyes follow me until I disappeared into the galley kitchen. I searched the cabinets 'till I found something to eat. I pulled out the large box of cheerios and hunted for the other materials I needed for a good bowl of cereal.

I could hear Kim and Jared's murmurs and half wondered what they were talking about, while my other half was wondering where the hell the sugar was.

"Hey Ashley," Kim said, standing in the entry way to the kitchen. "How did you sleep?"

I glanced over at Kim then back at the bowl of milk and cereal. "The first two thirds was just fine, but then I woke up from a not so super fun dream and couldn't go back to sleep. So then I thought I should give the bathroom floor a try. Could you please tell me where the sugar is, before my cereal becomes soggy and inedible?" I sure was in a mood; it was obvious from my bad sarcasm and hint of bitchiness. I hated that I was being mean to Kim and that put me in a worser mood.

Kim looked down to the floor. "Sugar's in the second cabinet door on your right."

I opened the door and pulled out the sugar, then spooned some on top of my cereal. I mixed it all together and took a bite. I smiled and my stomach did as well. I picked up the bowl and walked over to Kim.

"Love you always little Kimmy," I said, bending down to kiss her on the cheek.

She smiled a little. "Kimmy always love Ashy."

These were the words we had exchanged when we were little and they hadn't changed one bit, except that I was twenty-one and she was eighteen. We used the phrases as greetings and just before a goodbye. She walked beside me as I made my way into the dining room. Sitting myself down in one of the chairs, I looked over at Kim.

"Where are your parents?" I asked, digging into my cereal.

Kim sat down in the chair on my right. "They went out."

"Doing what exactly?" I said between bites.

"They… they went out to plan the funeral," Kim answered.

I placed my spoonful of cereal back in the bowl.

"They won't be back for a while, by four o'clock at the latest," Kim continued. "I was told to take care of you while they were gone, get you whatever you wanted – whatever you asked for. Mom's words…," Kim studied me for a moment, probably easily reading the feelings that were overwhelming me. I was feeling sad _again_ at my tragic loss, I was really starting to wonder when the despair would lessen to the point where I could return to relative normalcy. I was surprisingly angry at Gary and Mary, while still very scared of them, for them taking away my family and not having the courtesy of not killing me then with them all. The depression swelled and cascaded over me, deep sorrow pushing down on my shoulders. How was I expected to live on while my reason for life was gone? "Oh, Ashley I shouldn't have told you. I shouldn't have told you, I shouldn't be bringing anything like this up after Jared found you in the bathroom. You were probably up all night doing… I should have - or _someone _should have stayed down here to keep an eye on you. Ashley, I honestly don't know what to say except I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I'm an idiot and didn't _think_ before I told you that."

I lifted my hand and took hold of the spoon, stirring the cereal. Kim was going to ramble on if I didn't stop her, but it was such a comforting thing, such a standard _Kim_ thing to do, that I let her go on. Kim and I had a closer relationship than the standard cousin relationship asked for. We were really good friends and knew so much about each other, the tiny little quirks that made us seem like crazies that we found normal in the other. Like how she wasn't the perfect social butterfly, so whenever I went silent and she decided to talk, she effing rambled on about the strangest things. Kim had moved on from the topic of her stupidity to her getting in trouble for having Jared over when she was supposed to be taking care of me.

"…_So _much trouble, believe me. And I nearly got caught that other time, oh, we were seconds away from getting caught that time, good thing Jared is practically a ninja. A large, non-Asian ninja, but a super-fast, lithe, super-strong ninja. If he were some comic-book hero he wouldn't be Super Man, he'd be Super Hot Ninja-"

"-Kimmy," I interrupted. "I love you and I promise not to mention the fact that Jared was here. Why don't we do something to get our minds off things?"

Kim stared at me for a second. "O-Kay, uhh, what do you want to do Ashley?"

"How about some board games? You still have any?" I asked. I scooped up the remaining soggy Cheerios in one spoonful and shoveled it into my mouth.

"I know for sure we still have Uno, but that's not so much fun with just three people. We could go check," Kim said getting up.

I got up as well, picking up my cereal bowl and following Kim into the family room. Kim walked over to a cabinet that was pushed up against one of the walls and opened one pair of the doors. As Kim rummaged through the shelves I drank up the milk left in my bowl.

"There is Uno, three sets of cards, uhh, Trouble, Twister, Rack-O, Sorry!, and Monopoly," Kim stood to look up at me. "You know I never remember ever actually finishing a game of Monopoly."

"How about some Rack-O?" I suggested.

"I'll set it up then," Kim said with a smile.

I went off into the kitchen and put my empty bowl in the sink. I spared a second to glance out the window in front of the sink, still scared that Gary and Mary would show up and…

I shook my head and quickly left the kitchen to join Kim and Jared and to possibly have a little fun playing Rack-O.

VVVMVMVWWVMVMVVV

The sound of the front door opening made us pause in our fourth round of Rack-O since Jared had left. Aunt Donna walked in and greeted us with a hello, with Uncle Frank following behind her. They both looked a little worn out and I started to get nervous, they probably had something to talk to me about and I really didn't want that. I was just starting to feel a little bit normal playing and talking with Kim and Jared.

"Did you sleep well last night?" Aunt Donna asked, taking a seat on a couch.

I shrugged. "Yeah, it was alright."

She nodded and looked over at Uncle Frank who was standing behind her.

"Ashley, we need to talk to you about a few things about your family," Uncle Frank said. He glanced at Kim and she got up and left.

I shifted in my seat, not wanting to do this just this moment. But I knew it had to be done, so I stayed seated as Uncle Frank walked around the couch to sit next to his wife.

"Hopefully you'll be okay with us making the executive decision to take care of the funeral arrangements," Uncle Frank began. I nodded in agreement and he continued. "While we were out we went through some of the legal things, like your parents wills. You get some things by default, because all of your sisters are gone. You get the house, and nearly everything that's in it and a part of their money. When you're up to it one of us will take you to your house and you can go through it, and choose what you want to do with the things in it and if you would like to keep it, sell it or even rent it out."

I nodded slowly. That would be a hard thing to do when I came to it, but I would do it… eventually.

"You should think about calling your college, Ashley," Aunt Donna said. "You could talk to your headmaster or guidance counselor and get some amount of time off to grieve. Your schoolwork may fall if you can't focus on it."

"I can do that later today," I said. "I have a question though, what ever happened to the stuff that was in the car?"

"I think the police department took the car to search it and to catalogue the damage done to it by the attackers, I'll make sure to check on it and see if we can get everything back now. Was there something that you needed from your bags?" Aunt Donna asked.

"There's my cellphone and laptop really, those are the more important things I'd like, next to all my clothes," I said.

"I'll go do that now," Aunt Donna said.

Uncle Frank stayed seated. "I have to ask this, Ashley… are you doing OK? Do you want to talk about what happened?"

I shook my head. "I'm fine. I'm dealing with it all well enough so far, but I don't want to talk about it. I'm not at all ready for that."

Uncle Frank nodded and didn't answer. He was grieving too, perhaps I would talk to Uncle Frank sometime, it could do some good for me, but it wouldn't be anytime soon.

We were both quiet so I was able to hear Aunt Donna talking lowly on the phone.

She hung up the phone and came back over.

"They've finished with everything and anything in the car was brought to the Forks police. The car is there too. You up for a trip to Forks?" Aunt Donna said.

"Sure, let's go," I said getting up.

VVVMVMVWWVMVMVVV

My bags were in the trunk along with the rest of my family's bags. I had gone through the things to find my cellphone, which was now in my pocket. I had said the car could be trashed, I didn't care. If I were to take any of their cars it would be Mom's, it was the nicer of the two.

"Do you think we could stop by CVS so I could get some things I didn't bring with me?" I asked Aunt Donna.

"Sure."

Aunt Donna stayed in the car as I went inside. I bought myself some normal sized shampoo bottles because I only had the mini ones in my bags and they would only last for a few days, and I was planning on staying home a lot longer than that. I got some woman products along with a few treats just for me; Two Monsters (one red and one green), a Snickers bar, a Payday, and two different flavors of Stride gum.

When I walked out of the store I quickly glanced around me on reflex. It was about time they found me, right?

**(1) Short-term wolf talk in reference to the inner circle for patrols, the outer circle would be second line.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: So I'm done with my other story SW so this is getting bumped once again up the story ladder to the number one slot. (Means I'll be trying to add 1,000 words each day (it takes long to update due to my wonderful Betas)). So I want to let you guys know that if you are not reviewing, I'm going to be moving on to another story (I've got plenty lined up). So **_**reviewing is a **__**must**_** if you want this story to move on.**

**I do not want to put a review requirement, but I will if I'm not getting any feedback from all those ppl who fav and alert this story but don't take the time to type up a quickie review. Or, hey, I'll just stop writing this story.**

**Alexandra Kelly – Move On**

**VersaEmerge – Fixed at Zero (Acoustic)**

Chapter 5

**ASHLEY POV**

I hung up my cellphone and placed it on the table. My head quickly followed, I was so tired out after making all my school related calls. They all easily agreed to be flexible with due dates and give extensions if I needed them. I assured them I won't be taking advantage of them and would contact them when extensions wouldn't be necessary; with the exception of my Biology Lab professor they all assured me it was fine. "Nearly all the assignments are online these days, it's all perfectly fine," my Math professor's exact words. So I was all good and settled on the academic end of things. I could stay with my Uncle (if he lets me) all during the rest of spring break and into next week. I had also called my guidance counselor about having a talk or two once I get back.

I knew that I needed to talk to someone about what had happened. I wasn't yet ready to talk to my Uncle Frank; I still couldn't fully untangle the web of thoughts and feeling of 'the incident'. I _wanted_ to talk with someone; I just still felt… such a wide range of emotions that I couldn't name them all if I wanted to. But for now, I was going to try and relax and calm my mind.

I was really high-strung ever since I left Mary and Gary, and it was really starting to affect me physically. I jumped at the littlest things, it was now difficult to go to sleep and to stay asleep, and I barely slept an hour this past night. I could barely take it anymore.

They wouldn't just let me live because I know what they are, and the insistence of my life ending and anyone I told kept me from saying anything. Their basic instincts to prevent them from being hunted by people wielding pitchforks required them to make me not say a word to anyone, and the most efficient way of making sure I couldn't tell anyone in anyway was to kill me. I'd gone over this numerous times last night as I had laid awake, staring up at the white ceiling. There was one big 'but' I had hit upon, it's now been over 48 hours since I'd seen them. They had seemed very assured of themselves that they would have found me within 24, and now double that time has passed…

I've strangely begun to have optimistic thoughts.

I really shouldn't be doing this to myself, because then, when they both come busting through that front door I'll be mentally (and physically) destroyed. I can't begin to condition myself with positive thoughts, yet I can't get myself into a deep depression or teach myself to have high anxiety all the time. I just didn't know what to do with myself. Hence my hundredth catch-22, a) want to talk to someone |b) didn't know how to explain everything.

But because I could kind of do this in my head, I was hoping I would soon break the cycle and tell _someone_…

I heard the front knob jingle and I quickly turned in my seat, quickly relaxing before I even saw a hand because Mary and Gary would bust down the door, not turn the knob. But I stayed as I was and saw a large tan hand gripping the knob, before throwing the door wide and stepping into the room.

"Hello, Sam," I greeted.

"Hello, Ashley. How has your day been so far?" Sam asked while shutting the front door.

I shrugged. "I barely got any sleep last night and I just got off the phone with my professor for my math class."

"Asking to get a leave of absence?" Sam said, taking a seat at the table, one seat over to my right.

I nodded, looking down at my cellphone as it sat at the table, choosing not to respond so he wouldn't try to keep up a conversation with me.

Sam stayed silent, for a long moment. I didn't care nor did I feel like looking up at him to guess and decipher what he was thinking. I just kept my attention on my cellphone, using my left index finger to push my cellphone in circles, keeping the top-right corner as its axis (total math nerd).

"Ashley, I came here to talk to you about your story," Sam finally said.

I cringed at the simple comment, closing my eyes and keeping them shut, hoping to keep the images from surfacing.

I heard Sam release a sigh. (This was hopefully directed toward his own stupidity).

"I know I am the only person you told, Ashley. Kim has asked me to come here as someone to talk to," Sam finally said.

I looked up from the table and narrowed my eyes at Sam, wanting to know what he was getting at.

"Additionally I could also… provide you with answers to any of your questions."

"I wasn't aware you were a therapist Sam," I said. "Even if we did talk, you couldn't answer all of my questions… no one ever will."

Sam shifted in his seat. "I can answer your questions, Ashley. _All_ of them."

I opened my mouth to say something… but nothing came out.

"You know those two weren't humans, and I know that they aren't too. I've fought their kind before and won."

"H-how… how could you? Like you said they aren't…human," I said.

"I can and I have and I always will fight them, as long as they think they can pass through the boarder and not be hunted down by me and my friends," Sam said. "Ashley, I'm telling you this because we met up with those two but only successfully killed one of them, the other is still out there."

A wave of relief washed over me. "You killed Mary and Gary?"

"No, we only killed the male. The female is still alive," Sam said.

I sighed with happiness and rested my head in my hands. That asshole was dead, and I was so relieved to hear this piece of news.

"Ashley?" Sam said. I heard his chair squeak and his light footsteps on the hardwood floor.

I looked up at him as he came to a stop at my side. I got up from my seat and looked into his eyes.

"Did you really do it? Don't lie to me, Sam. I may not know how you did it, but I do know that you are strong and are capable of a lot of things. Now tell me the truth, is Gary really dead?" I asked, staring at his face.

"Yes, he's gone forever," Sam said. Looking deep into his eyes I could see that he wasn't lying or trying to deceive me.

I leaned forward and instinctively hugged Sam. I was so happy, relieved and thankful; I had so many emotions washing over me I couldn't name them all. Sam was surprised by my random hug but did hug me back.

I rested my chin on his shoulder. "Thank you Sam."

"You're safe now," Sam said. "Come down to my house anytime if you need to talk."

I pulled away nodding my head. In the deepest part of my gut I knew I could trust Sam.

VVVMVMVWWVMVMVVV

I stared at the pump as I filled up mom's car at the gas station. Well, now it was technically my car, but it would take some time for me to fully recognize it. I looked up when I heard the chatter of two little kids coming out of the station, each of them with a sugary drink in their hands.

"You need to be less of a freak, Heather, in order to make friends," the boy said.

"Bite me," the little girl said.

"Maybe I will," the boy said, he bared his teeth at the girl. He chased after the girl and she screamed.

My body jumped at her high-pitched scream. The mother yelled at the kids, telling them to get into the car. I pulled my attention away from the kids and back to the pump. I pulled the nozzle out of the car and put it back into the pump. The smell of gasoline was starting to give me a headache so I paid quickly before getting into the car.

On the way back to Uncle Frank's house I passed by the street where my house was, my body tensed at the memory and the fact that I would have to go through everything soon. I was completely rattled when I got back to the house.

Kim was the only one home. Her parents were out doing stuff, what it was, I didn't want to know.

"Hey, Kim," I said, walking past her to the kitchen.

"Ashley," Kim greeted, glancing back at me before returning her attention to the TV.

I was almost to the kitchen when I supposedly snapped…

"Don't you hurt her, Jared."

"I'm not!"

I struggled against the hands strongly gripping my arms.

"Stop it," I shouted. I was pushed onto the couch and I fell down on it. I rolled over to see Jared glaring down at me. I looked away and ran a hand over the place where he had gripped me. My heart was racing and my body was all hyped up. Not only did my arms hurt from being restrained like that, but my hands hurt like hell, it felt like one of them might be broken.

Jared turned away and left, leaving me with Sam and Embry.

"Are you feeling OK, Ashley?" Sam asked.

I swallowed trying to figure out what happened. "I-I don't know… How did I…?"

"I think she's back," Embry said quietly.

"Back from what..? I mean what's going on? I-I…"

"I think you should talk to a professional, I think you just went through some sort of episode… Do you remember anything?" Sam said.

I shook my head. "No. Why what happened?"

"You seriously can't be saying that," Jared said, walking into the room with Kim's hand in his.

"Jared," Kim protested.

"No," Jared interrupted. "She scared you and nearly hurt you. Ashley I don't know what to tell you, I know you've been through a lot of shit, but you either need to go to the psych ward or find your own place."

"Jared!" Kim said.

"I don't think you understand, Jared," Embry said. "I don't think she meant to hurt Kim."

"Oh, of course you're going to take her side, Embry, she's yours!" Jared said.

Sam stepped between the two boys. "She was saying _they_ are coming, not herself, "they"."

"What?" I said, standing up. I looked from person to person, trying to figure out what just happened.

"That's what she said at first, but then she started saying "she is coming" some girl named… Mary?" Kim said, stepping out from behind Jared.

"I really said that? I don't remember…"

"You really need to talk to someone else about this, Ashley," Jared said, looking at me sternly. "Someone other than just Sam." Jared turned around to have a short whispered conversation with Kim. They left the house, Kim giving me a quick glance over her shoulder before closing the front door behind her.

I watched after her, trying to remember what happened. Embry moved to sit beside me on the couch. I glanced at him before settling on Sam.

"Maybe we should have that talk now," Sam suggested.

"He may not be a professional, but he is a really good listener and a good problem solver. The first one was developed thanks to Emily," Embry said, trying to make a joke. I didn't laugh or smile because I was too confused.

"Can either of you tell me what happened?" I asked.

The two guys looked at each other.

"You kind of just… snapped," Embry said. "Kim said you started shouting and started saying the monsters were coming." Embry glanced over at Sam, and Sam gave a short nod. "The vampires were going to come and drain us all. You got a little physical with her and she ran into the bathroom. She called Jared on her cellphone and he was with us when he got the call. We all came over as quick as we could. You were banging on the bathroom door when we got here. When Jared first tried to get you away you hit him square in the jaw, you got in a few more good hits before he restrained you and got you over here." I glanced down at my hands, now knowing why they hurt so badly. "Are you sure you're OK? The last person to punch one of us broke her hand."

"I'm less confused now, but my hands do really hurt, my right more than my left," I said.

Embry looked concerned for me and Sam let out a frustrated sigh.

I looked up at Sam. "I'm going to have to lie again, aren't I? I can't go in saying I broke my hand from a guy's face because I thought a vampire was after me, they'll mark me as crazy."

All of us took a moment to come up with a plausible explanation for my injury, because I couldn't _not_ go and have it checked out, it was at least fractured.

"You could say you got so angry you punched a wall," Embry suggested. I was doubtful of his idea. Embry rolled his eyes skyward.

"If we can't think of anything we still have our in at Forks Hospital," Sam said.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: OK, seriously **_**review!**_** I also need to know if my style is changing, cuz I liked it the way it was before, but I feel like it may be changing a bit due to all the essays I have to write for English Comp. .**

**SO please review! PLZ! Should I try to do the incentive stuff, shoot you an email of the preview of the next chapter when you leave a review?**

Chapter 6

EMBRY POV

I absolutely _hated_ Sam right now. Like, I really felt like punching him in the face or shoving him out of a car going over a hundred miles an hour. Sadly he would eventually heal of any injuries I ever gave him. I really didn't want Ashley to be going to the hospital with the intent to see Doctor Cullen. I'm most certainly for her getting her broken hand fixed just not with doctor Cullen. And I had a right to think that too, because she was _my _imprint. But no, Sam was off driving her to the hospital because she couldn't really drive with one hand. It's not like I could go with her, she was a grown woman and most certainly didn't need me.

A woman… yeah, I - little teen me - imprinted on an older woman. She's in college and I'm still in high school. I couldn't help but fantasize about how our relationship would play out. Would we be able to get closer faster because she was older and there wasn't (really) any age problems (like for Quil, which sucks for him)? If that was true, then how quickly would we be getting together and having a family?

But for right now, I was more concerned about how well Ashley was. She was mentally messed up now. No one was ever supposed to find out about vampires, mainly because anyone who met one never ended up leaving of their own will. Ashley was able to because of us. She'd live on, but how well will her life be from now on that she knows?

First things first, I needed to make sure that female vampire was dead.

ASHLEY POV

"Now, I have called ahead, so when we get there we're pretty much heading straight for Dr. Cullen so he can treat you," Sam said as he drove us the hospital. "He's actually leaving at the end of the month for some hospital in Connecticut. So I guess in a sense that this is good timing. The main reason you're going to see him, is so that you don't have to watch what you say because he knows."

"Knows about vampires?" I asked, surprised.

Sam was a beat late saying "Yes."

I stared at Sam trying to pin the lie that was written all over his face.

"What? What is it, Sam?"

"…"

"Sam, tell me right now. Disregard me and all of my current mental handicaps."

"Dr. Cullen knows because he is one," Sam answered.

I stared at Sam for a moment, frozen with astonishment.

"You're…" It took me a moment to fully process what Sam had told me. "You're fucking taking me to a vampire?" I shouted.

Sam didn't even flinch at my reaction.

"Have you gone completely mental? You better stop this car now!" Sam kept on driving. "Sam!" I screamed.

"I'd like to think you don't like to lie. You had to lie to everybody, except for me, about what happened to you. This would be one person that you wouldn't have to lie to," Sam said.

"He's not a person!" I said. "He's a blood sucking leech and deserves to die for all the humans he's killed!"

A smirk actually was on his face before he got control of himself again.

"A smirk? What the fuck, Sam? Why are you smiling at me, huh? What about me right now is so amusing?" I said, getting very defensive.

"It's nothing, Ashley. You just sound like the boys when they first start out," Sam explained.

"What?" I said. "Oh… yeah… Yeah, I don't really want to, uhh, know about that. You and your boys saved me, well almost, and well… we can just leave it at that. Is that cool?"

Sam nodded. "Sure thing, Ashley."

"…"

"So are you going to actually go and see Dr. Cullen?" Sam asked after a minute of silence.

"No. No fucking way am I going in there _with a freaking vampire_ by myself," I answered.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Sam said.

"What? No, I'm not a baby or anything, I just don't want to be killed," I said.

"Then do you want me to come with you or not?" Sam offered again.

I sat there silently for a moment, already knowing the answer. "Yes."

VVVMVMVWWVMVMVVV

There was barely any wait time for me; it only took a few minutes for a spot to be called up for me. Tension was running rampant in my stomach as we (Sam was following a step behind me on my right) made our way down the hall.

I recognized him right when I saw him enter the hall. He was too pale and too freaking handsome to be human. He beat us to the room and held open the door for us.

I was so scared I was afraid I would go mental again and hurt myself (or somebody else). My body was on high alert and I was shaking from fear and anxiousness.

"After you," Dr. Cullen said, gesturing me inside the room.

I made a quick mental decision. Since I would never be able to physically hurt him, I might as well try emotionally.

"You have no soul," I said, walking into the room.

I could see that the doctor was taken aback for a second but then composed himself.

"Sorry, Dr. Cullen. She really doesn't mean it, she's just had a very bad experience," Sam said, before following me into the room.

"It's quite alright, Sam," Dr. Cullen said. "So you said she broke her hand, and what was it that caused this?"

"Long story simplified: I was traumatized by two of _your kind_ and I went completely mental and actually attempted to fight against Jared Thail. My first hit went straight to his jaw... or so I have been told," I explained, wanting to get out of the room as quick as I could.

"You don't recall the experience?" Dr. Cullen said, turning his full attention on me.

I shook my head. "No, I don't remember anything. The last thing is when Kim greeted me and then… nothing. I suddenly find myself being wrestled into the family room by Jared."

"OK, then. Let's see the hand then," Dr. Carlisle said.

I hesitated for a moment, not yet fully trusting him.

"It's fine, Ashley, just let him look at it. He's not going to hurt you, he's here to help you - besides I'm here."

I took one last assessment of the doctor, closed my eyes and held out my arm, away from my side. It was very childish, I was fully aware of that, it was just the only possible way to get myself to do it. His touch was very light on my hand, so much so that it took a second to realize it. But the very second I was fully and consciously aware of his cold skin on mine I yanked my hand away, shaking my head.

"This was a bad idea, I can't do it," I said to the room, my eyes still shut.

"Ashley, it's OK," Sam said. He moved and placed both of his large hands lightly on my shoulders, giving them a comforting squeeze. I sighed, some of the tension flowing out of me. "I'm right here. He's just gonna check out your arm, put a cast or a brace on it, and then we'll be on our way," Same spoke into my ear.

I slowly nodded my head. Lifting my right arm back out to the doctor, I turned my face away from him, still hesitant.

I cringed at his cold touch as he pushed back my shirtsleeve and examined my hand.

"Yes, it does look like it's broken, though you seem to be dealing well with the pain-"

"-I've been through worse-" I interrupted.

"Before I put you in a cast, I'm going to have to manipulate the broken pieces back into the right spots. You're going to want to sit down on the bed for this."

_So that's why it's a room…_, I thought. I'd be yelling my head off when he does this. I opened my eyes and glanced behind me at the bed; as much as I did not want to be sitting down I want a fully functional hand to use in the future. Yay, for me I'll be getting more pain meds for this… _not._

VVVMVMVWWVMVMVVV

"Wow, you could just become a drug dealer if you wanted with all the pain meds you have, Ashley," Hunter said.

I smiled. "I sure can, do you want to be my first customer?"

"OK, why don't we leave her alone boys," Emily said coming into the room.

"Aww come on mom, learn to live a little," I said. The boys laughed and I reveled in the happiness and warmth around me.

"I think you should rest a little, let those pain meds wear off," Emily said, coming to stand in the middle of our little circle.

"No, I don't. I want to hang with the guys. I mean, Embry here took care of me when I got back from the leech," I said, getting up and crawling to the other end of the couch that Embry sat on.

The other guys laughed. "Come on, Emily, give us a break. None of you girls ever side wholly with us on the leech subject, this is a… rarity. Just let us hang," Paul said.

I sat on my legs next to Embry, slinging my left (unbroken) arm around his neck. "I can't tell you enough, thank you Embry, you are such… a – great… guy."

Embry gave me a small smile. "Thanks Ashley, but I'd love to hear you when you're not high."

"Psh, I'm not high. This is just a side effect of the pain killers," I said, threading my right hand with my left, looping my arms around his neck I pulled his head to mine.

All the guys laughed and I smiled. I was so fucking happy I couldn't even believe it. It felt great.

"I love you Embry," I whispered into his ear, leaning my forehead on his head.

He raised a hand to lightly grasp my right elbow. His body relaxed as he let out a sigh.

"Are you gonna remember all this?" Embry asked quietly.

I shrugged, snuggling closer to him. "Yes… or partially, or not at all. I don't know."

Embry dropped his head back against my arm and the back of the couch. The guys laughed.

"That's what you get for being a nice guy," Collin said, with a grin.

"He's a very nice guy," I agreed. "And he shouldn't be sad. Why are you sad, Embry?" I used my unbroken hand to lift and turn his head toward mine.

"I'm not sad, I'm just… feeling tortured," Embry mumbled.

"Tortured?" I repeated, surprised. "No one here is torturing you." I glanced around the room at the other four guys. Embry turned his head away from me but I grasped it and tried to turn him back to me. "Embry," I whispered. "Embry talk to me… Embry. You did a favor for me by talking me down and taking care of me when I got back." Embry turned his head to face mine. "You are really awesome for doing that. You could have left me wailing my ass off, though the noise would be really annoying, but you didn't. You talked to me and you let me rant and you let me freaking abuse you as my own personal punching bag and you got me to smile… and laugh… and now we're all having a great time… but you're not," I pouted my lip. "Why?"

I heard an "Oh, shit" from one of the guys.

"I…" Embry searched my face. He looked deep into my eyes looking let-down. "I… I will always be there for you, _always_. Whenever, wherever, I will come to you and would be anything for you-"

"-Embry man, I don't know-"

Embry continued past the interruption. "-no matter what you need me for. What I did for you was just an example of how I will always be there for you. Ashley… I…"

"Dude, just use your brain."

"I just want you to know that I'd really like to continue this conversation tomorrow. But know that I will always be happy as long as you are happy, Ashley," Embry finished.

A smile spread across my face. "Aww, Embry, that's just the sweetest thing." I gave him a light kiss on the cheek. "You'll just have to remind me tomorrow about continuing the conversation. M'kay?"

"OK," Embry said.

"Good," I said. I repositioned myself to be more comfortable, sitting on my butt and laying my legs over Embry's, my arms still around his neck. Embry shifted to accommodate me then wrapped his strong arms around me, holding me strongly, but gentle and the same time, to his side.

"Be careful there Ash, you don't want Embry's drool to get on your new cast, that'd be gross," Zach said.

I laughed. "Who ever said Embry was a drooler?" I reached up and poked a finger into his cheek. Embry looked down at me, not even the slightest bit annoyed. "Oh!" I turned to look over at the guys. "But there is one thing I would want on my cast… your signatures! Hunter, go get a Sharpie!"

"Why can't you get it? Your arm is broken, not your leg," Hunter said, not moving an inch in his comfortable spot in the big chair across from me.

"Just get it Hunter," I said.

Hunter got up with a sigh and moved out of my vision to retrieve the sharpie. Hopefully they had a silver sharpie or something that could show up on the dark purple. Hunter came back with three sharpies; a gold, a black and a silver.

"Now sign it," I said, holding my arm out.

Hunter squatted down and took the gold sharpie and wrote on my cast.

"There you go my demanding drug-dealer," Hunter said, placing the cap back on the Sharpie.

"Thanks," I said. I turned to Embry and made him do the same.

I got Paul, Collin and Zach to sign the cast too.

"I'mma have to get all the other guys to sign it too," I said after Paul was done. "Get all my super heroes on my cast."

"We'll that's great timing on our part," Brady said, as he entered the room with Sam and Finn.

Paul and Zach got up and went over to the new guys, exchanging a few words, my own name being mentioned.

"Ashley," Embry said. "I'm going to have to go."

"Oh, yeah. Just give me a sec to-," I dropped off my sentence focusing my whole mind to getting off of Embry without using my right hand. Once I had managed to get off, I stood up. Embry stood up as well and paused a moment to look down at me. "See you tomorrow?"

Embry nodded. "Yes."

"OK, see you then," I said, a little happiness draining out of me knowing Embry would be leaving me for the day.

Embry reached out and pulled me in for a short hug. "Don't be sad, Ashley," He whispered in my ear. "You deserve to be happy for the rest of your life." To my still slightly "high" brain it almost felt like he gave me a kiss on the top of my head.

**A/N: I laughed as I was writing that last scene bcuz, I had to get Ashley all drugged up in order to mover the relationship along a little bit faster. (Oh I also don't know if that is a side effect or not, but there are a lot of them to pain releivers (I just kinda took my experience of taking my wisdom teeth out (but I was more nauseous more than anything))). Cuz it is going to be a real drag if they don't start to bond soon. Though the main reason why I wanted to write this story was to write a comfort type of story (and romance isn't the main runner).**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Hi! I'm back. It's agreed, college is a lot harder, and I'm trying to make school priority. So I'm sorry if I'm letting you all down. I'm still continuing the story, I am just not going to be updating as quick as you wish I would be. So reviews of 'update soon' won't make me go any quicker. It's also hard to get into writing when it's the sad stuff.**

Chapter 7

Maybe I shouldn't have said that I could do it alone. Maybe I should have brought at least one other person with me, that could have possibly helped with the tidal waves of emotions I was experiencing right now.

I took a deep breath and pulled the keys out of the ignition. I took one more calming breath before getting out of the car. My eyes swept over the empty house as I walked over to the front door. As I unlocked the front door, my eyes were pulled to the welcome mat with a grinning St. Bernard. We never owned one, but Jasmine had always wanted one. I hesitantly stepped into the house. It was very strange for it to be so… quiet.

I drifted from room to room, letting my feet take me where they wanted. They took me to the kitchen first, where somebody's cup was still sitting on the countertop. As I walked around I took it to the sink, and then continued on into the family room, and then the girls' room. One half was messy, Emily's side, and the other was put together well. The scent of Jasmine's strong bath and bodyworks fragrance mist was still lingering in the air.

Quickly exiting the girls' room I walked upstairs. My hand hesitated as it reached for the doorknob to my parents' room. I attempted to swallow back the lump that was forming in my throat. I pushed open the door, not yet stepping into the room. My eyes scanned across the empty room. I didn't want to let my eyes settle on anything, because then I'd remember a moment when my parents were alive-

A shudder went through me and the horrible moment came back. Just the feeling of fear and panic was enough to break me down, but with everything else – the unsuppressed memories of that night, the deep feeling of loss – I crumpled to the ground and just sobbed my eyes out. Tears were pouring out of my eyes and I tried to wipe them away so I could see. I wanted to see them again. Bringing myself up to my knees I made my way over to my mother's bureau which was right next to the door. I used both of my hands to peek above the edge, because I was on my knees. Reaching forward, I blindly grabbed a frame and brought it down with me as I again, dropped to the ground.

Using my free hand I wiped away my tears to get at least one good look of the picture. Tears began to rise back up again as I took in the two smiling faces in the picture.

The picture was of my Mother and Father when they had gone on an over-night trip for their anniversary two years ago. I had been a senior in high school and we all had convinced them to go for the weekend. They had come back happy and they said they had they had a great time. I had remembered the look Dad had given Mom and all three of us siblings had 'ewwed' and had all ran out of the room.

"_Why_?" I said. I stared down at the picture, wishing to hear my father's rough voice again or to have one of Mom's comforting yet strong hugs. I missed everything about them and didn't know what to do.

"Anything…," I whispered, "I'd do anything just to have you back." I'd sell my soul if I could find someone to give it to. I just wanted them back.

To have them taken away from me so quickly – just like that – they were all gone, my whole family. I took a deep breath trying to calm myself, but it didn't help. I just felt so alone…

I shouldn't be alone. I should not have come alone. _But who else could I have asked?_ I thought. I knew if I asked my Uncle or Aunt they would be experiencing the same emotion of sadness with me, but perhaps on a less intense scale than me. I wouldn't want anyone crying along with me, I should have brought someone with me who could pull me up off the ground and onto my feet and get me away, then attempt a lame joke to get me to laugh or to at least get my mind off of my dead family for at least a second. With that last thought my mind retrieved the memory of the time I had spent with Hunter, Paul and Embry. I could feel the muscles in my face pulling back to form a smile as I relived the memory.

I wiped helplessly at the tears still flowing from my eyes. I tried to get up but I couldn't. Truly, I didn't want to because I feared I would end up hurting myself due to my lack of sight.

Reaching my hands out over the soft, green carpet, my hands eventually made contact with the foot of the post to my parents' bed. I reached a hand skyward and gripped the top of the footboard, using it as leverage I pulled myself to lay on my stomach on the bed. With my feet planted under me now, I stood up; using the post I had touched earlier to steady me.

I turned and sat down on the bed, one hand still holding onto the post. Using my left hand I wiped at my eyes. Taking a deep breath, I tried to calm myself down. My hand flexed its grip on the post. I wanted to get up and out of the house, but it wasn't really possible because I could end up on the floor again whenever I recalled a memory by looking at something (which was everything) in the house.

**Embry POV**

I was running patrol when I felt a wrenching pull in my imprint bond. I faltered in my pace as the pull I felt toward Ashley get stronger. Not only did I begin to worry about what was happening I also felt sad.

_What's wrong?_ Quil asked, sensing a change in my thoughts.

The bond pulled again and I stopped running. _What was going on?_ I thought. I felt strangely sad and had a dying urge to run and find Ashley. Thoughts of her being hurt or in trouble ran through my mind so I turned and followed my instincts, letting it lead me to Ashley.

**Ashley POV**

I was in such a haze that it took a moment for my fogged mind to realize someone was hurrying up the steps.

"Ashley?" Someone quietly asked. "Are you OK?"

I pushed off of the bed and stood. I wiped at my eyes with both of my hands.

"No, no I'm not," I said.

I could see the empathy in Embry's face as he looked over me.

"Do you want to go?" Embry asked, still speaking softly as if saying it any louder would hurt me more.

I shook my head slowly. "No, I need to do this. I just- I can't- It's just so much…"

Embry took a few steps forward moving further into the room.

"This is gonna sound – strange, but can I get a hug? I just feel so… so freaking alone right now," I said, looking into Embry's eyes seeing if he was weirded out or not. "I know that you barely know me…"

Embry walked toward me and I lifted my arms up pre-emptively for the hug. Because he was actually tall, I didn't have to bend over. I lifted my head to rest my chin on his left shoulder.

"I just miss them so much," I whispered.

He ran a comforting hand up and down my back and I sighed, a tear escaping from my eyes.

"Whatever you need…" He whispered back, leaving the statement open to me.

"Just this for now." I took a deep breath and let out a sigh as he started to rub my back again.

I had felt so alone lying on the floor, balling my eyes out that this hug felt like bliss. Because it felt so nice, I wanted to stay like this forever. I wanted to not be cold and all alone but to be with someone and to feel the warmth of their presence. And Embry's embrace was very warm. It felt like I was hugging a human incarnation of the Sun.

"Thank you," I said.

"No problem," Embry said. He lifted his head and unwrapped one of his arms from around me.

I was surprised by how upset I was that the hug was over. I took a step away and looked around the room.

"If you don't mind me asking, what were you doing here?" Embry asked.

"I have to go through the house and sort everything, deciding if I want to keep it, sell it or throw it away," I explained. "I'm going to keep the house, but I may see if anyone wants to rent it out. I'm at school most of the year."

"You have to go through everything? That's tough," Embry said.

I nodded. "I only managed to walk through the house I didn't touch anything before I broke down."

"I'm so sorry Ashley," Embry said.

I could only nod as I felt the tears come on again. I stomped my foot, frustrated. "You'd think I wouldn't have any tears left!"

Embry hugged me until I stopped crying.

"Would you help me?" I asked.

"Are you sure? Do you think it would be better to do it some other time?" Embry asked, questioning my thoughts – for good reason.

"No, I can't drag this out and I'm not getting rid of everything… just most of it," I said.

"I'm not saying not do it, but maybe you should give yourself a break and come back tomorrow more prepared," Embry said.

"You have a point…"

"You also may want to think about bringing someone with you next time."

I sighed and looked down at the ground. "Yes, I do need to." I raised my head to look at Embry. "Would you come?"

Embry hesitated in response.

"I mean are you free? Feel free to say no if you can't. You'll still have a soul after saying no to a girl who just lost her whole family," I said, attempting a smile to lighten the joke.

"I actually am free, bad joke aside," Embry said.

"Ha, your reference was funnier," I said with a full smile.

Embry shrugged a smirk on his face.

"Alright, let's go," I said.

Embry followed me out the front door. I pulled my car keys out from my pocket.

"Wait, how did you know I was here?" I asked Embry.

Embry looked surprised then irritated.

"You know what? Never mind, I'll just attribute that to you being a part of the league of superheroes with Sam," I said. "Do you need a ride anywhere?"

"Um, could you drop me off at Brad's?" Embry asked.

"The Bar?" I asked, surprised.

"I have a friend that works there and I want to talk with them," Embry explained.

"Sure thing, hop on in," I said, unlocking the car and climbing in.

I started up the car and pulled out of the driveway. I was partially happy about getting away from the house.

"OK, please don't take this badly Ashley -I'm just saying this to be a good friend- you don't look so good face-wise," Embry said.

I glanced over at Embry to see that he was nervous.

"Wait… are you trying to tell me nicely that I look like shit?" I asked.

"Yeah. Know that I'm only saying this so you don't go out and have everyone you meet ask you if you're OK and then be reminded of –you know," Embry said.

"Huh… well that's very –considerate- of you, Embry."

I pulled into a parking spot in front of Brad's Bar and Restaurant.

"So want to meet up tomorrow at, say, around ten at my house?" I asked.

Embry nodded. "I'll be there and don't get started without me."

"Thanks, Embry," I said with a smile.

Embry smiled back and then he got out of the car. I watched him as he walked into Brad's and through the windows I could see him walk over to the pick-up counter. He motioned someone else to come up to the counter and a woman came over. I pulled out of the spot, before he noticed me watching. Turning the car onto the main road, I headed for My Uncle's house. My appearance wasn't a matter to me because in a few hours I will be saying my final and public goodbye to my family.

VVVMVMVWWVMVMVVV

My Father, Mother and my sister's may not be living with me any longer, but they will forever be in my presence and love me still as spirits until the day will come that I will join them too.

**A/N: & a happy new year to all! Hope you all had a happy Holiday!**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

**Ashley POV**

My cellphone alarm went off at nine and I let it ring for a solid five minutes before I pulled myself from my cocoon of blankets on the bed all the way over to the bookshelf where I had put it the night before, on purpose. I needed to start getting myself into a routine, and that always starts with getting up at a regular time from day-to-day.

By this time both my uncle and aunt should be off to work. Kim was far easier to converse with if she was still here. I still haven't fully figured out where she always was during the day, which was a strange new thing in our relationship.

I turned off my obnoxious hi-hat heavy alarm and put it back on the shelf. I got myself ready for the day by showering, brushing my teeth, and blow-drying out my hair. After getting everything done as quickly as I could I then had my breakfast of champions, Lucky Charms. There was no Kim this morning. I went back to my room and got ready just in time to leave for my house. Of course I was there first, Embry no doubt would show a couple of minutes after ten, because who would love to be left alone in a house of a dead family? Oh yeah, me.

I got out of the car, pocketing the keys. I sat on the edge of the concrete slab that was our front porch, waiting for Embry. Looking at the ground, I rested my elbows on the tops of my knees. I was feeling surprisingly… normal. I'd had the best sleep I'd had since I came here, though it wasn't perfect, and I was becoming more aware of the fact that there were still people out there that cared about me. Those people who cared about me were not only just my family, but old teachers and both old and new friends. Among those new friends was Embry. I'm sure if I had hung-out with any of the older boys while I was in the high school I would have become friends with them, I had actually even tutored Jacob as it turns out. I wonder if he has yet forgotten his cute attempts at flirting.

I smiled to myself remembering the ritual we had eventually developed, at the end of every tutoring session, or when he _wanted_ it to be over, he'd say one of his pick-up-lines. I'd always laugh and say 'eventually you'll find some girl who'll fall for your lines'. I pulled back my sweatshirt, to get a look at my watch, a small little thing with a thin, teal strap wrapping around my left wrist. I loved it because it went with nearly every outfit I could put together and also because it went so well with my skin tone. The minute hand ticked one more past ten, making it 10:04.

"Hey, Ashley," Embry called and I looked up, pulling my sleeve back into place.

"Hi, Embry," I said standing up. "Good to see that you made it." _Why was I smiling so damn broadly_? I thought to myself. _I feel so good right now. How is that possible when I know I'm going to start going through my family's things?_

"Have you gone in yet?" He asked, stopping to stand on the porch in front of me.

"No, I haven't," I said unlocking the door. Without hesitation I walked through the house and went up the stairs to my parent's room. "I figure, work top down. I'm not planning on getting rid of everything. I'm going to be holding onto things for pure sentimental value and probably put stuff in their closets or in the attic."

Embry nodded.

"All the furniture is pretty much staying, just so it's not completely empty in here. Clothes are going to the consignment shop in town if they're in good shape if not they get trashed. Knick-knacks and such I'll go through and either," I took a deep breath trying to get rid of the stress that was starting to come over me, "be put in the trash or sold, online."

Embry placed a hand on my shoulder. "Just know that you have a great attitude, but know that you should give yourself some breaks. It's going to be hard… and also know that I'm right here for you."

"Thanks, Embry, for doing this with me, I really needed it. I'm going to go to the kitchen to grab some trash bags. Can you go to my car and get the packaging stuff from my trunk?" I handed Embry my keys and he took them.

"Sure I'll be right back," Embry said.

We both went back down the stairs. I grabbed both boxes of black trash bags. Before leaving the kitchen I paused. I turned back around and went over to the fridge and opened the door. The fridge, how could I forget about _that_? At least it hadn't been too long. The milk still had a week left on it. Our grocery store bought fruit was moldy. I pulled over the trash can from its little corner, over to the fridge, emptying out all the expired contents.

"I could help you with that," Embry said, walking into the kitchen.

"I'm sure you could. Do you want any milk?" I asked gesturing to the gallon still sitting on the counter.

"I'll save it for later," Embry said. "Is there anything still good in there?"

"Besides the milk, two yogurts, a whole pack of diced peaches… actually there is still a lot that is edible. It's really all the preservatives they add in these days," I said, looking through what still remained in the fridge.

"These days… you don't know what you're eating. The big food-corp-guy is injecting all sorts of things into food so it can stay on the shelves longer. The only place I trust is Dugger Diner and the Redwood," Embry commented.

"Oh, I used to waitress at Dugger Diner! Oh, the good ol' days," I said.

"It is the good ol' days at the diner. I seriously wish they made the waitresses have those retro outfits," Embry said.

"Oh, please. Black and White linoleum is the cheapest thing, then you paint everything else teal and an ugly shade of blue and you have a retro diner that serves modern day fast food," I said.

"Along with those amazing sundays I got as a kid, waffles made fresh and the most amazing home-made pie," Embry added.

"If you love it so much, why don't you work there?" I asked sarcastically.

"I wasn't aware they were hiring," Embry said with a smirk.

"Maybe I'll put a good word in for you," I said, tossing the last bit of spoiled food into the trash. I tied off the full bag and pulled it out of the trash can. "I was pretty close with the owner's wife. You'd have a foot in for the job, wa-ay ahead than anybody else."

"You – You know I was joking right. I'd get teased like hell if I worked there," Embry said.

"At least you'd be the one with the job," I said, heading for the back door of the house.

I went over to the garbage can, lifting the lid and tossing the trash in.

When reentering the kitchen I stopped. The easy part was done, all was left was the hard parts, and a lot of it.

"If you ended it right now, at least you know you got something done," Embry said, seeing the look on my face.

I shook my head. "I have to at least get one box or bag done, that's the only way I'll feel like I've accomplished anything."

"Alright, let's do it," Embry said.

I looked over at Embry and saw the confidence in him and his drive to put things right and help me out. "OK, let's go."

Embry followed behind me as I walked upstairs. I entered the room and looked around, trying to pick a place that would be the least difficult to go through. I pulled out a trash bag from the box and tossed the box onto the bed. I walked over to her dresser, pulling open the top left drawer. Socks. I emptied the drawer and moved onto the next one on the right. I emptied that one just as easily because it was filled with underwear.

"OK, hand me some masking tape," I said to Embry, who was sitting on the edge of the bed.

Embry stood and handed it over to me. "Do you need me to do anything?"

I shook my head. "No, you toss them in the car. Anything with an 'X' on it is being trashed. Any bag with no markings is being donated."

"Alright," Embry said, retreating back to his place.

I marked a large X on the black trash bag. Then I moved to the next drawer. I pulled out a new trash bag and filled it with my mother's jeans. The next one held shorts and her swimwear. I tossed all the gym shorts in the unmarked bag and the swimsuits in the one with the X. Next I moved to the bottom drawer and sorted through the things tossing them into either the unmarked bag or the X bag. I moved onto the closet and went through the process again, though I did keep some of the dresses she had. As I closed the doors to the closet, I wiped away a stray tear, the first of the day. I glanced over my shoulder at Embry who was tying off the full bags, I was beginning to get the feeling that I was faring so well because of him.

"I'll take these down, I'll be right back," Embry said, lifting the trash bags.

"No, wait," I said and Embry paused, lowering the bags back down. "Would you do the same for my father's things? Anything that isn't too worn or used gets saved, the rest gets tossed. I won't find any need to keep any clothing of his."

"Oh… Alright then, I can do that," Embry said. He picked up the bags and turned to toss them into the hallway. "You doing OK Ashley?"

"Yeah," I said. I pulled out two new trash bags for us, marking one of them with the masking tape. As Embry began to sort through my father's clothes I went through the things that sat atop her dresser. I let the pictures be, but I picked up her jewelry box. I walked over to the bed and sat on it before opening up the box. After going through it all I hadn't decided on doing anything but keeping everything in the box. I bit my lip and went through every piece of jewelry asking myself the same question for every new piece, would I ever use it, would someone else? If answered no to the first part I put it aside, but I did begin to hold onto some things with the sole reason being that I could pass it down to my kids.

"Are you sure you want to donate everything? You could probably sell some of this, like this suit," Embry asked. I looked over to see Embry holding up the one nice suit my father owned that was reserved for formal occasions.

"Who would we sell it to?" I asked.

"The Tailor's?" Embry suggested. "You could at least get something for it because it's so nice." I turned around and shrugged. "I'll find someone to give it to."

I looked down at my hands that held my mother's engagement ring. Kids… my mother would never be able to see her grandbabies. I wouldn't get any help or learn new stories about me as a kid as I started my walk into parenthood. My eyes welled up and I refrained from sniffling because I didn't want to alert Embry. The ring blurred as tears ran from my eyes.

I hadn't seriously thought about having a family before, but now, knowing so much that would be missing… I couldn't help myself. A sob escaped me and I could hear Embry pause from behind me. I took in a slow silent breath waiting for him to start up back again. I placed the ring back in its place in the box, letting out a shaky breath. In the background I could hear Embry continue sorting. I missed my Mom, I missed my Mother and now we would both be missing out on the things that were to come in my future and in my sister's. Mom and I had once had a conversation about what type of man Emily would end up marrying. A smart doctor or nerdy accountant? None of us girls would be able about to brag about who had the best, or worst, kids. Or brag who had the best husband, or wife.

I covered my mouth as I sobbed again, but this time I couldn't stop.

"Ashley?" Embry asked worried. He quickly walked over and knelt in front of me. "What's wrong?"

"I-they never…" I sucked in a breath. "-Never got to be Aunts!" I wailed.

"Wha-?"

I slid off the bed and into Embry, wrapping my arms around him.

"Ashley?" Embry said.

"Oh, Embry why can't it stop?" I whined.

"Stop what?" Embry asked.

"The pain! Why can't it stop, and why can't I ever forget?" I sobbed into Embry's shoulder.

"Oh Ashley, I'm so sorry," Embry murmured.

"Every time I remember them, two things come up. Some memory of a normal them and a picture of the last time I saw them alive being… torn apart by those monsters. Those freaking vampires!"

"I hate them too," Embry said. "But hating them isn't going to change anything, sadly."

"I just want to see my Mom again, one last time… I want to see them all again," I said.

Embry just held onto me as I continued to cry. He ran a light hand over my back while hushing me at an attempt to lessen my tears. I fell into his embrace, letting him adjust us both for me to end up in his lap – both of his arms around me as he held my head to his chest.

"Do you want to take a break? Or end it for today? We got a lot accomplished today," Embry quietly said.

"Mhmm," I agreed. "Let's go."

"Alright." Embry slowly pulled back his arms. I stayed a second longer reveling in his warm embrace. I stood up and Embry did too. He tied up the bags he had been working on then looked up to me. "Come on." I scooped up the few pieces of jewelry I was willing to spare and followed him out of the room. He picked up the two bags from the hall and carried them all downstairs.

We left the house and Embry tossed the bags into the trunk of my car. He got into the driver's seat and started up the car. I climbed into the passenger's seat not questioning Embry. He drove the car to the consignment shop where we both got out of the car. I put the jewelry into my pocket and went to the trunk.

"Toss the trash into the dumpster in the back I'll take these in," I said, grabbing the unmarked bags.

"I'll meet you inside," Embry said, taking the bags and closing the trunk.

I walked into the store, the bell ringing above my head as I opened the door. The woman at the register looked up and recognized me.

"Hi, Ashley," The middle aged woman greeted me with a smile.

"Hello, Linda. Having a good day?" I asked, walking over to the register and dropping the bags to the ground.

Linda looked down at the bags then back at me. "Yes. How have you been?"

"Been better… So, Linda, I'd like to give you all these clothes and this is just the first batch," I said.

"Alright, I'll go through it. I'll hold onto anything for you that we won't end up putting on the racks," Linda said.

I waved a dismissive hand. "Just toss it if anything is too worn. See you later." I left the store to see Embry coming from around back.

"All done?" Embry asked.

"Almost… Come on, follow me," I said. I walked along the walk to the next store, Embry following a step behind me. I entered the jewelry shop and smiled at the owner who was sitting at the display counter working on a watch.

"Miss Ashley, good to see you," Dennis said, walking around the counter. I hugged the aging man. "I hope things have been going well since the accident."

"Things have been OK, Dennis. I was hoping you would actually take a look at some things." I reached into my pocket and pulled out the jewelry. "Would you be willing to buy all this?"

Dennis looked down at my hand. "Of course! Come, let's take a look." Dennis steered me over to the counter and I placed all the pieces on the counter.

"Well, for starts, some of these pieces are gold, so you'll get a good amount of money for that," Dennis commented as he fingered through the pieces, separating them all. He analyzed the pieces and partially counted aloud the sum he would pay for it. "It would all come to five ten, but because you're my favorite I'll give you five hundred and fifty dollars."

I smiled at Dennis. "Thank you."

"Favorite what?" The both of us turned to look at Embry, who looked skeptical.

Dennis shrugged. "Just my favorite everything. She's a ray of sunshine and happiness that one."

"Dennis," I laughed. "I'm standing right here."

"Yes you are young lady," Dennis said, walking over to the register.

I thanked Dennis after he handed me the money, then left the store.

"Are you sure he didn't jib you?" Embry asked as we walked back over to the car.

"He wouldn't do that. We know each other too well, and if you didn't hear, he added forty bucks to the total," I said.

"How do you know him so well?" Embry questioned.

"Community service, I took a lot of odd jobs and I like people. He really is an interesting guy and he has a great taste in jewelry. Now give me the keys, I think I'm good for driving back to Kim's and I also want to make a stop on my way there," I said. Embry held out the keys and I took them from his hand.

"When do you want to do this again?" Embry said, putting his hands in his pockets.

"Tomorrow," I stated. "Same time."

"See you then," Embry said. He then turned and walked away.

"Wait, Embry! Where are you going?" I said.

"Work," He called over his shoulder, continuing on.

I got into the car and drove out of the lot heading for the community center.

**A/N: Winter break is my excuse for this quick update. So could at least one of you leave a review and tell me what you think of the story? A review that I could take and improve the story with – type of review. Do any of you like it (and where it is going so far?)?**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: So, because I did all the math out I'm informing you all it is the year 2008 in my story and Embry/Jacob/Paul/Jared are all eighteen and seniors at QTS.**

Chapter 9

**Embry POV**

_Work, what a lame excuse_, I thought to myself. Ashley started up the car and left the parking lot. I looked around me to see if anyone was around before I quickly walked over to the tree line. I needed to head over to Sam's and find somebody to switch shifts with me. I'd picked the third time slot for tomorrow so I needed to find someone who felt like running patrol from seven in the morning to eleven. Right now it's only a quarter past noon, there was bound to be a decent number of people there. It was going to be a difficult sell, because we were all on vacation from school right now, so no one would want to get up so early.

For a second I wavered on whether or not to phase. Ashley was going through a lot. She didn't need to have a play by play of our time together broadcasted to the pack because of the stupid mind reading thing. But on the other hand, they may just be more motivated to kill the other vampire.

I stripped down and phased. I ran to Sam's house, noting the silence in my head. Two members of Sam's pack were on patrol now. Recalling the fact that the two runners were Noob Pups I ran out to the second line, where regular patrols took place.

It was weird to have complete silence. Before, whenever you phased there was always at least one other person in your head. I looked around as I neared the line and saw one small wolf trotting along the line. I let out a bark to get his attention and he quickly turned his head to look at me. He stayed on the line as I phased into a human.

I walked over to him. "Hey, do any of you guys want to take my shift tomorrow?" I asked the wolf; my guess was that it was Zach.

The wolf phased and it was Zach.

"Hellz to the yes," He said. "Finn is running over, he'll offer to switch too. We both have First tomorrow."

I'd forgotten that Noobs get last pick during vacation weeks. "That sucks," I said.

"But then I don't patrol until Sunday," Finn said, running over in human form.

"Well, which one of you has the most schoolwork to do?" I questioned, trying to be smart and reasonable.

They both thought about it for a second.

"I feel like I have a History paper due Monday," Finn said.

"OK, I'll run your shift tomorrow morning if you take over mine at seven, Finn," I said.

"Cool!" Finn said.

Zach was a little disappointed and jealous about me picking Finn.

"Is she getting any better?" Finn asked.

"I wish there was something I could do," I said. I couldn't imagine what she was going through, but I knew it hurt her a lot because I could always sorta feel her sadness through our bond. "Well, see ya later boys." I phased back and ran for Sam's house. When I got close enough, I phased back and put my shorts on. I walked into the house to see a number of the boys still eating, and the rest were lounging on the couches and sofas.

"Hey, Embry! Nice of you to join us," Quil said, spotting me as I entered through the side door.

"Embry!" Kim called from next to Jared. She waved her hand for me to come over. I reluctantly walked over to her instead of the kitchen to scrounge up any scraps.

"Hello, Kim," I said, taking a seat on the couch next to her.

"How did things go with Ashley?" Kim said.

I leaned back into the couch, running a hand through my hair, resting my hand back down on the armrest. "We got some stuff done, went through her parent's clothes, but she broke down when she started going through her Mom's jewelry and things."

"Aww, what happened?" Kim asked.

"She just started crying – about how her sisters never got to be Aunts… and how she wishes the – the pain would stop," I glanced over to Kim, to see a sad look on her face. "It makes me hurt when she is in pain… I-I just don't know what to do. I want her to have the world and she's just afraid of it all. Probably because she thinks she's going to get hurt again."

Kim rested one of her hands on top of mine. "You're doing your best just by being there."

"But I should be able to do _more_," I said, feeling frustrated. "You weren't there. The way she _said_ it-it just… it nearly broke my heart to hear her like that. Maybe I'm doing a lot by just being there with her to make sure she doesn't dig herself into some depressive hole, but… it feels like I could be doing something more to help her, besides helping her clean out the house of her dead family."

"We just have to be there for her right now. And if she ever asks for anything, or something comes up that you can help with, you do it. There isn't much more that can be done beyond that. I'm sure she really does appreciate what you are doing. Thank you for helping," Kim said.

I sighed and got up from the couch, heading into the kitchen in hopes for some food to help me feel better.

VVVMVMVWWVMVMVVV

It took me a moment of lying, tangled in my sheets to realize I had to get up for patrol, or else Finn and I would get yelled at by Sam and Jacob. It was only a little over a week before the attempt at combining the two packs. Usually, it doesn't matter that the two people on patrol are from different packs, because there is hardly anyone that comes through the area. Right now, it matters because there is the threat of the female vampire. She hasn't even come close to the boarder since the day we killed her mate, but we were all still to be on alert for the scent.

I left the house five minutes to eleven for Finn's patrol. I ran it, then went back home to go to sleep until nine. That's when I would get up to see Ashley.

After making a call, telling Quill I got someone else not of our pack to cover my shift, I arrived at Ashley's house at nine fifty. It was really early, but I knew she would be coming this time. If she ended up coming early too, we may spend some time talking. I wanted to help her be happy, and I hoped to bring up memories of happy times, with people who were still living.

I watched as cars passed on the road and when I saw her car pulling into the driveway, I stood up from my seat on the edge of the concrete porch.

"Hi, Embry," Ashley called, shutting her car door behind her.

"Hi, Ashley," I said, smiling just a little at seeing her. She looked a little better than when I had first seen her the day before.

"So…," Ashley began, "I think we're going to work on my sister's room today. I'll go through Emily's and Jasmine's room, my aim for today is to sort through all of their clothes."

"I think we left the bags and stuff upstairs. I'll run up, grab them and find you," I said. I watched Ashley's face, seeing all the worry and the sadness there. She glanced up at me and in her hazel-green eyes I could still see the fear in them. From what that fear stemmed from, I could only guess. But the way that she looked at me made me want to hug her, and hold her in my arms and never let go. I gave a nod to her then quickly went upstairs.

Coming back down I walked into the room with the trash bags in hand. I looked around the pink colored room and didn't see her.

"Ashley?" I called.

"Yeah?" Ashley responded to my left. I looked over and saw her head poking out of a closet.

"Oh, there you are," I said, walking over. I looked inside the large closet where Ashley was working. "I got the bags."

Ashley turned around again and looked down to see the box in my hand. "Oh, good," She said reaching forward, and taking the box. Her fingers touched mine and I refrained from overreacting. I've hugged her, but it was crazy how even the littlest touch could have me going crazy. She pushed past me into the room. She went over to one of the dressers and started going through it.

I looked back into the closet and looked inside. It was very nearly a walk in closet it was so big.

"Wow, this is nice, I'm sure any girl would love a giant closet like this," I commented.

"Emily and Jasmine loved it. They had been fighting over who would stay in the room once I moved out," Ashley said.

"Hmm," I said and turned around to face the room. I spotted the box of trash bags sitting on one of the beds. I walked over and pulled a bag out. "Want me to start going through the closet?"

"Uhh," Ashley said turning around, "You can do the racks and start on the right side."

I got to work then, starting from the far right rack, like Ashley wanted. I didn't mind helping, I got two things done while I did this. One, I got to keep an eye on my girl and make sure she was doing OK. Two, I got to help her out when she needed it. Yesterday was easy to do because I was going through her Dad's stuff, guy stuff, which I totally knew about. Today may not be so easy because I was going through girl's clothes; I was currently surrounded by pinks and purples.

I pulled off the first thing on its hanger and knew I was in for it. A majority of the pair of jeans that I was holding had holes in it. I let out a sigh; I wouldn't be much help today.

"Hey, Ashley?" I called, walking out of the closet with the jeans in hand.

"Yeah, Embry?" Ashley said.

"I don't think I'm going to be as much of a help today…"

"What do you mean?" Ashley turned around to see me, and then looked down at the jeans. A second later it clicked for her and she smiled, letting out a little laugh.

I smiled just because I was happy to hear her laugh. "I'm not sure anyone else would want to wear this, there isn't much left to wear."

Ashley laughed and walked over to stand in front of me. "These actually used to be mine, but with fewer holes." Ashley took the jeans from my hands and examined them. "We could put it in the bag and see what Linda does with them."

"It'd be a joke," I said. "You really used to wear these?" I asked, taking a step back trying to picture it.

"Well, I was younger and shorter when I owned these. I'd bet they'd still fit actually," Ashley said holding the jeans away from her, trying to picture it herself.

"We don't need to see that, how about I just take your word for it?" I said.

Ashley glared up at me. _Bad choice of words_, I thought.

"Seriously? You know what?" Ashley walked around me and into the closet, closing the folding doors behind her. "I may be old but I can still look hip."

"Geeze, Ashley, you're only 22! You're not old in anybody's book," I said. "You're only sound old by the way that you chose to phrase that sentence."

"Well, I certainly feel old watching all those freshmen on campus," Ashley said. A second later the closet doors opened and Ashley emerged with the new jeans. "See they still fit, and no muffin top!" She said patting her stomach. She spun around, stopping and placing her hands on her hips.

Ashley looked great in those jeans, her ass looked perfect and her deep tan skin popped out against the light blue color of the jeans.

"Was that a normal pair of jeans when you first got it?" I asked.

Ashley shook her head. "No it actually only had… four?... Pre-made tears and holes." Ashley looked down at her jeans. "Now that I think about it, it was five."

"Nice, I'm sure you had a blast making all of those," I commented.

"Oh, not all of them were on purpose," Ashley said. She looked down and pointed to a wide hole on her right thigh, just below her pocket. "This one I got with some of my friends when we were pulling a prank on some boys at school. I can't remember what it was exactly, but I remember having a blast."

"Then you don't need to remember much else," I said, looking down at the hole then back up to Ashley's face. Her face broke into a real smile.

"You're so right," Ashley said. "Well, I'm going to change back now."

Ashley turned to leave but I reached a hand out to stop her. "Wait." Ashley turned back around to look at me and I smiled at her. "Is it the jeans, or is your ass really that perfect?" Ashley gasped in surprise and a light blush colored her cheeks. "You were hot back in high school and you still are."

"Did Jacob-"

"I actually told him to use that one. Would you fall for it coming from me?" I was really getting ahead of myself, but her smile was so damn beautiful along with that blush…

"Maybe," Ashley said, turning and walking into the closet closing the doors behind her.

"I'll take that," I said, still smiling.

Ashley still was too when she came back out of the closet with her regular jeans on.

"So you gonna keep them?" I asked, somewhat hopeful.

She shrugged. "I don't think so. When would I ever wear them?"

"Whenever you wanted to wear some jeans," I suggested.

"No, it's holey," she said.

"I'd just say they're nice, not divine, but whatever floats your boat," I said and Ashley laughed. I was really having a great time with her right now.

"You're such a clown, Embry," Ashley said.

"That's what I'll be doing today, entertaining you," I said, walking over to take a seat on the bed across from the closet. "You'll be doing all the work because I am not a girl and I will chat with you and make you laugh. Every time I make you smile, I get a point and every time you laugh I get two points."

"And what happens when you get so many points," Ashley asked, moving back to the dresser near the foot of the bed.

I shrugged, pulling myself so I could lean against the wall as I sat. "I don't know. How about for every… ten-"

"-Hundred," Ashley put in.

"For every hundred points I earn I get… a Sunday at Dugger Diner," I said.

"Who's gonna pay?" Ashley asked, shutting a drawer and opening another.

"Me," I answered simply.

Ashley shook her head, laughing.

"Two points!" I shouted, throwing up two fingers.

VVVMVMVWWVMVMVVV

"So where did you end up stopping before you went to Kim's house the other day?" I asked, fishing for a bit of information. Hoping she hadn't thought about doing something risky.

"I went to get a spot in the flyer asking for a roommate," she answered.

I was surprised that she was going to rent it out to someone. "Well, I hope you find a nice normal person to be your roomie," I said. "If you want, the first day the person comes over; I could be there - as backup."

"I'll probably take you up on that offer if I don't already know the person," Ashley said. "I'm actually hoping to get two people, because I'm not going to be here because I will be at school. I'll be taking my parents room and the roomies can get my old room and my sisters' room. I'm planning on coming home over the weekends now so I can keep an eye on them, I have a month left of school anyways, then I will actually be living here."

"Did you get any time off of school? Or are you planning on staying here a few extra days?" I asked. I wanted to know how much longer I will have with her. I liked spending time with her, and I was getting to know her a lot better right now during our talk.

"I'm staying here a week longer, and then going back on Tuesday the 29th. I'll probably leave around nine, nine-thirty to get there on time for my first class," Ashley said.

"Wait, you're leaving at _nine_ to make it for your first class of the day?" I asked incredulously.

"Yes, it starts at one and goes to two twenty. Then my next class starts at three and goes to four twenty."

"Wow," I said. "To be able to sleep in that late for school." I wasn't planning on going to college, but I was finishing high-school, unlike Jacob, who dropped out. After school, I would have a lot more time and could get a full-time job somewhere. I didn't necessarily have to, since the pack got paid by the town because it is hard to go to school, do the work for school, patrol our shifts, and maintain a job with decent pay.

"It is nice being an upper classman. When I was a freshman, I had classes at eight in the morning, every day for the first semester," She said, tying off the garbage bag. "Wanna tape that box up and bring it upstairs?"

"Sure," I said. I taped it so it would stay closed and put it on top of the other box upstairs. They were to be put up into the attic on a later day. There was a pull-down ladder, which was located alongside the stairs, but we were saving ourselves all the trouble of moving the small pieces of furniture around every day. When all the 'attic' boxes have been put together, than we will put them up. I went back down the stairs to see Ashley carrying a number of shoeboxes out of the room.

"If the shoeboxes don't fit in the back with the trash bags, just put them in the backseat," Ashley said, walking past me.

"Alright," I said, picking up the three trash bags that were sitting in the family area. I tossed them in the open trunk and placed a hand on it as Ashley loaded the four shoeboxes she managed to carry out. She walked back into the house to get the rest.

I looked around the house, reflexively keeping watch. A van pulled into the driveway to the house across the street. The driver, a middle-aged man, got out of the car heading for the rear door, pulling it open. As two kids filed out the older man looked at me, then to the house.

"Daddy!" One of the children shouted and the man turned his attention to his kids.

Ashley came back and loaded five more boxes into the trunk.

"Let's just head over to the store. We can just bring the rest tomorrow," I said.

Ashley nodded and I close the trunk. We both got into the car, heading to the shops. We went through the same routine as yesterday, me taking the one trash bag around back and Ashley bringing the clothes inside.

Coming back to the front, I went to the car to bring in all of the shoeboxes. I started to stack them up, when Ashley came out and helped. She carried in three into the store. I followed behind her with the rest.

"Wow," The young cashier said, her eyes widening after I dropped all of the shoeboxes on the counter.

"Bye now," Ashley said, quickly turning to leave the store. I glanced back at the cashier before leaving.

Ashley was at the back of the car, slamming the trunk closed.

"Wanna go grab some lunch, Embry? My treat," Ashley said, walking to the driver's seat and opening the door. She stood there, waiting for my response.

"Sure, I could go for some lunch," I said. "Where do you want to go?"

"We could go to Dugger Diner. You said you like it there," Ashley said.

"That'd be awesome," I said, getting into the passenger seat.

Ashley smiled and got into the car too.

"So, how many points do you have for today?" Ashley said as she pulled out of the parking space.

"Well, after our conversation establishing what a long laugh counts for, I have… 18," I said.

"Now I'm going to be self-conscious about myself," Ashley said.

"Don't be, just laugh and smile like you normally would. Just know that every time you do so, _I _get closer to having a Sunday."

Ashley glanced over at me and smiled. "There, now its 19."

I rolled my eyes at her. "So what was that back at the store?" I said, making conversation.

Ashley groaned. "I never seemed to like Laura."

"My goodness," I fake gasped. "A first! Somebody Ashley isn't friends with."

Ashley laughed at my dramatics. "Yes, it is a first. For some weird reason she has always been on my bad side. Sometimes it would only take one word from her mouth to get me annoyed."

"Everybody has that one person who always gets on their nerves," I said.

Ashley pulled into the parking lot in front of Dugger Diner. I got out of the car and headed for the door.

"I'm sure glad you're buying, because I eat a lot," I said.

"Consider it as payment for being really nice and helping me," She said.

I opened the door and held it for Ashley. She smiled at me and walked in. I followed behind her to a seat by the windows near the end of the row of booths. There was a bit of a commotion at the counter and Ashley noticed as well. She smiled to herself. A young waitress was walking over when an older woman hurried forward.

"Ashley, it's so good to see you! Brooke, I'll take this," The woman said to the waitress. "How have you been? I heard what happened. I'm so sorry."

Ashley got up from her seat across from me to give the woman a hug. "It's nice to see you again Sandra. I'm doing OK, I'm happy to have you guys care so much about me."

"Of course, if you need anything, you know where to go," Sandra said with a wink.

Ashley sat back down. "Well we'd love to have some amazing food for lunch."

"Then you came to the right place," Sandra said. "What would you like to have to drink?"

"Do you have any Tab?" Ashley asked.

"Yes we do. And you?" She said turning to me.

"Coke," I said.

Sandra left us then and I looked over to Ashley.

"You weren't really lying were you? You're so special you got the owner's wife to serve us," I commented.

Ashley turned to face me and nodded. "I told you I was tight with her."

"So what are you going to do with your extra week off?" I asked, not wanting a silence to come between us.

"Continue going through stuff. I'm really hoping someone will answer my wanted roommate ad before I go. If not, I'd probably have to call the power company to cut off the power to my house," Ashley said.

"Wait, what about the weekends?" I said.

Ashley shrugged and sat back into the seat. "I don't know… I'm really betting that someone calls me about the house. I'm counting on someone wanting to get out of their parents' house and into their own place. Do you know anyone?"

"Yeah, you're talking about everyone in my grade. If they aren't going to college, they would be thinking about getting their own place. It's just that there aren't that many in town. But you may actually get a lot of calls about those rooms," I said. "Actually, why don't my friends and I move in? You know all of them; they're all a part of the group."

She shook her head. "I'd prefer one of them to be a girl. I don't need to be surrounded by boys; I've been told they are very messy people to live with."

Our drinks came then, served by Sandra. She put down two food menus for us and said she would be back in a moment for our orders. Neither of us looked at the menus. I'd come here enough to know what I wanted, and Ashley used to work here.

"I'll just let them come as they may. If no one seems qualified, I may ask for your opinion or suggestions," Ashley said.

"Sounds good," I said. I took a sip of my soda. Looking down at the menu I opened it up and aimlessly looked through it. "So what are you ordering?"

"A salad with bacon bits and a side order of fries," Ashley said before taking a drink of her soda.

"And what is Tab? I've never heard of it before," I said.

"It's probably the very first low calorie drink made in the sixties. It was only one calorie back then, but now its zero," Ashley answered. "What are you ordering, just so I can prepare myself for the bill?"

"Three burgers all with double the cheese, chicken sandwich, some fries, and maybe a milkshake," I said.

Ashley's eyebrows rose at the quantity of my order. "You can fit all that into your stomach? You know it has a limit and when that is surpassed it explodes."

"I've been trained; I can eat way more than the average human. I would eat less if I didn't have a high metabolism," I said. "Think of it as Flash, from the comics. He's always eating to keep up the energy to run at supersonic speeds and I do too, I just can't run as fast."

Ashley looked skeptically at me. "So superheroes are real now too?"

"No, no Superman as far as I know. There is a real Justice League right here in La Push," I said. I was slightly worried about bringing this topic up. If I made her remember the fact that I'm different, she may remember that there are other different creatures out in the world – ones that weren't on the same 'side' of things as I am.

"Except that every member of this league has the same superpower," Ashley asked. She didn't seem scared, more like eager to know more about us.

"Yeah," I said.

Sandra came over and we gave her our orders. She wrote them down on her pad, and then left us.

"So, I was thinking after our lunch here, we can head back and work some more – if you're not busy or anything," She asked, taking on that last part quickly.

I could get the sense that she felt like she was taking advantage of me and I couldn't help but wish I could tell her everything.

"I'd be happy to hang out and help you some more, Ashley. Its vacation and I have all my homework done, so I'm basically free all week," I said. "As long as you're up for it." I took a sip of my soda, watching Ashley as she thought. The left corner of her mouth was quirked to the side as she slowly stirred her drink with the straw.

"Today was… it was probably the best day I had so far… since I got back here." Ashley looked up to me and stopped stirring her drink. "I feel so… I don't know how to say it because good just seems too positive a word but… I feel so – almost normal – because I knew you were there. Through the time that we spent together, though very small, I've learned that… you'll be there for me. You'll come to my side whenever I need it and comfort me. As weird as that sounds…" She looked down at the table. "It probably feels so strange because I've been so low, and now this almost normal feels so high. Occasionally I over think things, but knowing you're here for me – and everybody else – really helps me get over this." She looked back up and I could see how she was being open right now. She was sharing all this with me right now, and it seemed like that was an important step for her dealing with the incident. I couldn't screw this up now.

"And I am," I said. "It probably sounds like a broken record to you by now, but we're all here for you. You have an army of people at your side who care about you and are willing to help you out in any way that you need, or that's what I'd be willing to do. I can't exactly speak for everyone else, but I'm sure we're all thinking along the same lines of helping you out in any way, small or big."

Ashley smiled warmly at me then and I could feel it pull at something inside me. It was almost like the bond was growing stronger as we spent more time together and had these moments between us.

"Thanks," Ashley said.

**A/N: OK, this was getting **_**really**_** long. This seemed like an OK spot to stop. I've been writing medium length chapters and this was turning into a possible 6 thou. words chapter. Just guessed that you weren't used to it and would get tired of it halfway through.**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Ha ha! I was a near whole month of continuous updates, amazing! I'd like to thank and introduce my new Beta for this story **_**Fanpire95**_** she is amazing and I absolutely love her & I hope you love this chapter enough to review =]**

Chapter 10

**Embry POV**

Not to say that our conversation wasn't touching and important, but I was starting to get really hungry. I glanced around the diner looking for Sandra.

"You know probably after tomorrow, there won't be any need for your heavy lifting skills," Ashley said, and I turned my attention back to her. "I'll just need someone to be with me for… moral support." She sighed. "I still feel like I'm taking advantage of you, Embry. Despite all what you said it feels like I'm taking advantage of your generosity. Like, don't you have anything better to do or something?"

"You've been in the city too long, Ashley. There is barely anything to do in town. Working with you I get to spend my time actually doing something productive while at the same time I'm helping out one of my friends."

"Aww, now you're just bein' sweet," Ashley said.

I smiled and glanced around the diner again.

"Hungry?" Ashley said, lifting one of her eyebrows at me, clearly seeing my growing impatience.

"Yeah," I said with a laugh. "Sometimes I just can't ignore my stomach as much as I'd love to."

"It has been a while, even accounting your large order," Ashley said, glancing around the diner. "Hey, Noob!" she called.

I was taken by surprise. I hadn't expected that nor did I think she was the type to do something like that. The girl Brooke, who had originally approached us when we entered, quickly came over.

"Yes, Ashley?" She asked.

"Sorry to pull seniority on you when I'm not working but, can you check on the kitchen and see what is up with our order?" Ashley asked, sweet as could be.

"Sure," Brooke said with a nod. She turned and left, leaving through a swinging door.

A looked after the girl astonished. How _did Ashley just do that_? I thought. I always get argued with by the Pups. Ashley is able to get this girl over here by calling her _Noob_, and then ask her to do something and the girl _does it_.

"How-? How did you just do that?" I asked.

Ashley shrugged. "I'm a people person."

Brooke came back out then with a tray full of food.

I leaned over the table. "You so have to teach me how to do that."

"Here's your food," Brooke said, standing at the head of the booth. "Your salad and side, Ashley. The rest of it is yours?"

I nodded. "Three burgers, a chicken sand which,-"

"- a side of fries, and a chocolate milkshake," She finished, placing it all on the table.

"Thanks," I said.

Brooke looked down at me with a smile. "Enjoy your food." She turned and walked off.

I dug into my food, taking down the burgers first.

"Mm, so good," I said, finishing off the last burger.

"You're going to have rampant heartburn when you get older," Ashley said, munching on a french fry.

I sucked down a quarter of my milkshake. "Nah, I don't think I will. How is your salad with _bacon bits_?"

"It was good," Ashley said.

"If you want any of my fries, feel free," I said, starting on my chicken sandwich.

"Cool," Ashley said.

We continued to eat in relative silence for the next few minutes. Sandra had stopped by and dropped off the check for the meal.

"So you ready to head back?" I asked, wiping off my hands on a napkin.

"Yeah," Ashley said, popping in one last fry. She put down money for the food and got up from her seat.

I got up as well and headed for the door. After leaving we got into her car and drove back to her house.

"So all the rooms are done, what else is there?" Ashley said aloud on the ride there.

"Move your stuff into the master?" I suggested.

Ashley shook her head. "Maybe go through the attic? There is a lot of stuff up there that I could get rid of because I wouldn't use it. Then bring up all the boxed stuff. If not then I'd go through the rest of the house… I think we're pretty much done, Embry."

I looked out the window. I didn't want to be done. I still wanted to spend my time with Ashley. Who knows the next time I would get to spend this much time with her. This was the greatest excuse, I got to spend hours of my time with her and it wasn't seen as super creepy. I just looked like a nice and caring friend.

When we arrived at her house we both got out of the car. After walking into the house, we both stood in the hallway, not knowing what to do. I looked over at Ashley, knowing that she didn't feel like going through anything more. Today was a lot better than yesterday, but she did still look worn out.

Ashley suddenly turned and walked to the end of the hallway. She opened up a closet and started pulling things out of it.

"What are you doing?" I asked, walking over.

"Emptying out another closet," Ashley said quickly. She pulled out a jacket and threw it to the floor, quickly reaching into the closet for another.

I reached down and picked up the large brown jacket she had thrown to the ground. I caught the next one she had tossed over her shoulder.

"Ashley?" I said, worried. But she didn't respond, just continued to tear through the closet. "Ashley." I dropped the jackets to the ground. "Ashley!"

"What?" She screamed, throwing a jacket to the ground.

I moved to wrap my arms around hers. I held onto her with her arms pinned to her sides by my backwards hug. She growled in frustration, letting her knees give out. I barely struggled with her, just slowly lowered her to the ground.

"Ashley?" I quietly asked.

"I just want it to be over!" She said. "I want it to be over and done with! I-I want things to be normal again. I want to go through my day without feeling like I need to scream to get all-all my a-anger and frustration out. I want to go through this house and not cry about missing my dead family."

"But aren't there more happy memories than bad ones here?" I asked.

The only response I got was a sound between a whine and a growl.

"Why don't you go to Kim's house?" I asked. "I'll drive you." Ashley shook her head. "Then what do you want to do?" I said. Ashley lowered her head, her hair falling to cover her face. "Ashley, like I said before I'm up for anything… You need me I'll be here for you, you just have to ask. If you don't want me here-"

"No!" She shouted. "I don't need anyone else leaving me…" The last part was spoken so quietly, that if it wasn't for my enhanced hearing, I wouldn't have heard her.

"Just tell me what you want, and I'll do it or go get it," I said.

"What if I don't know what I want?" Ashley asked.

"Then I guess we just sit here," I said, fully meaning what I said. Everybody had those times when they couldn't put words to what they were feeling or what they needed.

We did sit there for a few minutes more while I waited for Ashley to sort through her thoughts. She rolled her head back, resting her head against my left shoulder. She looked up into my eyes and I was slightly scared at how vulnerable she looked. I looked down at her trying to keep my emotions from showing.

"I guess I just don't want to be alone right now," Ashley said finally, still looking up at my face.

"Then I'll be here, unless you're sick of me, then you could call someone to come over. I-" Ashley cut me off again.

"No, this is just fine. I don't need… anyone else to see me like this," Ashley said slowly.

"OK," I answered. "Do you wanna sit like this, or do you wanna settle someplace else?"

"Yeah," Ashley said, making a move to get up, but my arms held her in place. I let go and Ashley stood up, she turned around to look down at me. She shook her head a bit then held her hand out for me. I didn't need it, but took it anyways. She held onto my hand, leading me back down the hall and into the kitchen.

Ashley sat down at the kitchen table at the far end of the kitchen. It would be right next to the closet we were previously at if the house had an open floor plan. I did what I have been doing all day and followed Ashley, sitting in the seat to her left. Then we just sat there, like I said we could.

Admittedly after a little while I did get bored. But I being vaguely bored didn't matter, what mattered was that I was helping out Ashley in any way I could, and I was doing that right now by sitting here and being supportive. I glanced around me and my eyes naturally ended up on the fridge. I looked back at Ashley, who was now staring blankly ahead of her. I could just lightly tell through the bond that she was sad, and getting sadder. I had to do something, but what? What could I bring up that wouldn't get her crying?

"Do you want a soda?" I randomly asked. Ashley looked up at me, surprised. "I want I soda." I got out of my chair and took a few steps before turning back around. "Can I get a soda?"

A smile pulled on the edge of her mouth. "Yes."

I walked to the fridge feeling like an idiot, but I couldn't sit there and do absolutely nothing. Pulling open the door, my eyes quickly scanned the shelved for something to drink. I grabbed two Sprites from the bottom shelf. I walked back to the table and placed one of the sodas on top of the table in front of her. I sat back down in my chair, and cracked open my soda.

Taking a sip of my soda I watched Ashley as she sat there. She wrapped her hands around the cold soda, but didn't open it.

I tried to keep my eyes off of the clock as we sat there, me sipping my soda dry in probably five minutes. I put the empty can down on the table. Crossing my arms, I stared down at the can. I was taken by surprise when Ashley reached out and took the empty can. She took the opening tab, and bent it upright, then flicked it with her finger. Ashley looked up at me and slid the can over to me. I looked down questioningly at the can, wondering what the hell she was doing.

"Wanna Play?" she asked. "You flick it from the other side."

I took the can and did what she did, but to the other side of opener. I slid the can over to her.

"So what's the goal of this?" I asked as she flicked, then passed the can back.

"To be the one that flicks it off," Ashley answered. "And no cheating."

The can was passed between the two of us a few more times before it broke off on Ashley's turn. I picked up the opener, which had flown over to me after being flicked off, and handed it to Ashley.

"Your prize," I said. Ashley took it and placed in on the table in front of her.

"Are you free tomorrow? We still need to bring the rest of the stuff to the consignment shop," Ashley said.

"Yeah, I am," I said. "Would that be all we're doing?"

Ashley shrugged her shoulders. "Depends on what kind of mood I'm in tomorrow. There are only the little things that I need to take care of now, like preparing for people to move in _if_ someone calls in time."

"I'm sure someone would answer soon."

"The Flyer goes on Monday, so let's hope so. And then you can be there when they come over," Ashley said.

"Yup, just call me if you need me," I said.

"How can I do that if I don't have your number?" Ashley said. She reached a hand down and pulled out her cellphone from her pocket. She handed it to me. "Wanna put it in?"

"Sure," I said with a smile, taking the cellphone from her hand. I put in my cell number then handed it back to her.

"Now I can call on you any time to be my slave," Ashley said.

"It's not exactly slavery when said slave comes willingly."

Ashley rolled her eyes at me. "Whatever."

VVVMVMVWWVMVMVVV

Ashley and I talked for a long while. We never did end up getting back to working on the house. Time flew by while we talked. I had asked her about college life and we talked an hour about that. Then she asked me about what teachers I had, and she told me stories about what happened to her in her senior year. As the light outside began to darken, I started to wonder how long I could stay for.

"I don't know, really, if I could afford it, I would go anywhere and everywhere in the world," Ashley said.

"Then I doubt you even more. I highly doubt that if you went out and saw the whole world that you would come back to La Push," I said. "I'll believe that you _may _come back after visiting California, but I'm less likely you'll want to come back after seeing every beautiful place in the world."

"I would! I love my La Push," Ashley said.

"Oh, now you own La Push? Well I am very grateful to be living in your kingdom Queen Ashley."

Ashley laughed and got out of her chair. "Come on its getting late and as many times as I've heard you say it, I know you have something better to do then spend _all day_ with me."

"How could you say that?" I said getting up. "I only just noticed that it's getting dark outside."

"What?" Ashley's eyes widened and she quickly turned around to look out the window. "Oh my god! Embry, why didn't you say anything? I just _sucked_ away hours of your day when you could've been out having a life!"

"_Ashley_," I said. I placed both of my hands on her shoulder, looking directly into her eyes. "I had fun today," I said, speaking slowly. Ashley looked up at me. "Yes, I had a good time today."

Ashley looked away and nocked one of my hands away. She walked off, out of the kitchen.

"Where are you going?" I called, getting up from my seat. I could hear the front door open and shut, and I ran out of the house to go after her. By the time I was outside on the porch, Ashley had started up the car.

I walked over to the car, standing in front of her door. The window slid half-way down.

"I'm going to give you a ride home, Embry. You don't need to keep walking everywhere," Ashley said.

Ashley was strong willed when she wanted to be. I slowly walked around the front of the car and got into the passenger seat. I didn't want to be leaving her. I thought we had a great time today considering everything, did she not think the same as me? I guess that's what happens when you're the only one in love in a relationship. I think we had an awesome time, when in fact, I was just a way to pass the time. I buckled myself in the car and glanced over at Ashley.

"So where do you live?" Ashley asked.

"The last house on Thunder Road," I said.

Ashley nodded and pulled out of the driveway. I was too worried to ruin anything else, so I didn't speak, and because Ashley was focused on driving, the next four minutes were passed in silence.

Ashley parked the car at the end of the road, in front of my small house. "Embry," Ashley said, as I made a move to get out of the car. "Thank you, for today… for everything." She gave a small smile.

I couldn't help but smile right back. "Not a problem Ashley," I said. I got out of the car with my smile growing wider by the second. My brooding moment had been a waste – Ashley did have good time! I went into the house and looked through the peep-hole to see Ashley do a K-turn to go back down the road.

"Embry!"

_Oh great_, I thought.

"Where have you been all day Embry?" My mother yelled at me.

I knew she was completely fed up with my 'behavior' and I hoped she hadn't seen Ashley in the car. She nearly hated Sam and the pack for being a bad influence, keeping me out of the house all night instead of doing work.

"I feel like I haven't seen you in forever. I know you have friends, but I am your mother, Embry! If I tell you to do something, you're supposed to do it. But you never do; you never listen to me!"

"Mom! I was with a friend, Ashley Connweller! Her family was murdered," I said.

My mother's expression broke for a moment before it went back to the fierce mask of severe annoyance. "Well, with all the time you're spending with your friends you'll come home to find me dead and gone. You'll regret not being home more then." She stomped upstairs to her room and I could hear her slam her door.

I clenched my fists in anger, trying to retain all my feelings, not wanting to cause any more problems by breaking something. I walked to the back right corner of the house, where my room was located. Falling onto my bed, I wished that I could press a fast-forward button to life. I knew that things were going to get better eventually; I just wanted eventually to be now.

**A/N: I feel like I need to disclose a line I got from a TV show called True Blood. I just took the concept of Sookie staying in her house because she had 'far more happy memories than bad ones'. So putting that out there as the reason why Ashley **_**isn't **_**selling the house.**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: We will be eventually be switching back to Ashley POV, but I still need Embry's POV to explain some points in the story**

**Blind- Jason DeRulo**

**Yeah!- Usher**

Chapter 11:

**Embry POV**

Two full days without Ashley and I felt like complete shit, and now today was a third. I thought it would be best spent with the pack, but I guessed wrong, I was only reminded of her every minute.

_Just a few minutes prior…_

"Holy shit!" Leah bounced up and down in her seat, a giant grin on her face – a very rare occurrence.

"What is it?" Quil asked, leaning over to see what she was so excited about. I could only have one guess. Leah protectively pulled the town flyer up to her chest, cradling it like a precious baby.

"Nothing," She said, pulling the paper slightly away from her chest to look at it once more.

"It sure is something," Quil said reaching out to grab at a corner of the town's 'paper'.

"No," Leah said, getting up and coming to stand behind me as I sat on the couch.

"Fine, I'll see it when I look at the Flyer at my house," Quil said, sitting back in his seat.

Leah laughed. "You'll be too late by then." Leah took out her cellphone and started dialing in a number. "Hello, my name is Leah and I'm calling to answer your ad in the flyer for a roommate."

"What?" Quil shouted. He quickly got out of his seat and tore the paper away from Leah's hands. She stuck her tongue out at him.

"I'll be free any time after three," Leah said, grinning. She nodded her head in response to what the other person was saying. "Sure, four sounds fine." She mouthed the words 'in your face!' to Quil. "Thank you, and have a nice day." Leah flipped her phone shut.

"Whoever this is they will see right through your nice act when you go in for an interview," Quil said.

"But I have a shoe-in for the spot. You know why? Because I'm a girl and she would hardly ever agree to let you little creeps into her home," Leah said.

"Well, I am still going to try," Quill said, bringing his phone up to his ear. Leah slowly shook her head and came around the couch to sit next to me. "No, no – no! It's busy! Dammit! Hi my name is Quil Ateara and I'm calling about your call for roomates. If you could get back to me that would be great. My cellphone number is 360-194-8514." Quil repeated his phone number a second time and then hung up.

"You're never gonna get it Quil," Leah said.

"Neither are you, Leah," Quil said.

Jacob and Seth walked in just then, both drenched in rain.

"Finally," I muttered. I wanted this meeting done with.

"What, you got someplace to be, Embry?" Leah asked.

"No," I said, folding my arms over chest. There was somebody I wanted to be _with_, that was the problem.

Jacob and Seth walked over into the kitchen, in case either of them dripped.

"So as a recap, what is this meeting about?" Quil asked.

"It's about next weekend but more about what is going to happen afterwards. The pack dynamics are going to be changing and anytime you phase there is always going to be someone in your head. This is really like a lame prep for what's to come, but we were all a part of one pack once so I'm hoping it won't be a big deal. It is just that now the pack is going to be a lot bigger. Remember it's going to be twelve on the dot that the others are going to join the pack. I'm not requiring you to do anything, but if you like you can be there," Jacob explained.

"And by pack dynamics you mean…?" I asked.

"Like Seth isn't going to be Beta anymore," Jacob said, glancing over at Seth who just shrugged. "Sam is most likely going to get that spot. Just don't be upset with your new ranks, were all old enough and I highly doubt any of you will end up on the bottom rung, but just in case you do… don't throw a fit, please. Oh, and that reminds me, along with the pack rankings changing how we deal with Pups will change too," Jacob looked around the three of us (Seth already knew about this because he was Beta). "Because these Pups are so young, you are going to be assigned to take care of a Pup."

"What?"

"Seriously?"

"I'm just gonna end up killing mine."

We all looked over at Leah and she shrugged.

"You really don't have to do much; just you become a mentor to them. Each Pup would know that they could go to _you_ regarding any sort of problem if they are unable to talk to anyone else, especially regarding any Pack related thing."

"What's the point to all this?" Leah asked. "We would all just go to you or the Beta if there was anything."

"That is true, but we can't always be there, we aren't always as accessible," Jacob said.

"When will we find out?" I asked.

"Shortly after the packs merge," Jacob said.

"I still think this is a bad idea," Leah said, "just thinking about the sanity of the Pup I end up getting."

"Leah, all I can say is it's just one little Pup, the older ones won't need as much help as the younger ones," Jacob said. "If no one else has any comments, we can call this meeting over."

I got up and headed out the back door and everyone else did as well.

"I do have to say, whoever _does_ end up with Leah is in for hell," Quill commented.

"The first time I'll ever agree with something that comes out of your mouth," Leah said, splitting off from Quil, Seth and I to go and phase.

I reached a hand in my pocket to check the time. If Mom was at work I'd go home and if not…

There was a note on the screen saying I had one new text message. I opened it to see that it was from Ashley: **Are you free to be my bodyguard tomorrow after school?**

I smiled to myself. I got to spend more time with my Ashley. I typed in a message and hit send: **Sure, what is a slave for?**

I decided on taking a nice run because it was now 7:30 and Mom would have been home for an hour now. I wanted to keep interactions to a minimum after her outburst. Just when I was going to put my cellphone back Ashley texted me back: **Be here 3 to prove your worthiness =]**

I grinned to myself, picturing smiling at my text.

"Whipped!" the guys shouted before laughing at me.

I closed my phone and glared over at Quil and Seth. Seth took off running into the woods, pushing on Quil's shoulder as he went. Quil grinned at me and followed after Seth. I rolled my eyes and walked all the way into the woods to undress and phase. Leah had already made it back home and Seth had just phased back, leaving it to just me and Quil.

_I'm so gonna miss the silence of being in a small pack_, Quil said.

_I agree. I'm going to miss going on runs whenever I want_, I said.

_See you tomorrow in school_, Quil said.

_See ya._ Then I was all by myself. I decided to go on a wide run of the border, that would kill a nice amount of time if I was just jogging or whatever it is a wolf does. I ran north then turned to run along the shoreline, but still in the woods. I ran to the very edge of the border at the top then took followed it turning right. It was more of instincts that I was able to keep a map of La Push and its territory in my head. By now we had created some real paths around La Push for first and second line. It was usually if we were bored (or feeling protective of imprints) that anyone ran the border line. And I was feeling a little bit of both right now.

I was fairly sure we had scared off the female mate good enough so that she wouldn't ever come back. But I still kept my nose up, ready. The pack was starting to make a rep of sorts in the vampire world. If we were to get a little cocky, we may just let one member of a coven live so as to pass on word of us. Then after gossiping to the others a little bit they might just come back to avenge a mate or something. I just couldn't wait for the day I retired. But that day was far off in the distance.

As I was daydreaming of what my life may be like with Ashley I caught scent of something. I slowed down and took a deeper breath from the air. I coughed a little from the stench of vampire. I lifted my head and howled, my front feet lifting slightly from the ground as I did so. It wasn't exactly fresh but it wasn't old either. I turned, trying to smell out where they had gone. With my nose to the ground I followed the trail a little and when it didn't begin to veer away as I got closer to La Push I let out another howl, but louder this time. I started running and followed it as it turned and went parallel to second line.

Jacob phased in as well as Quil.

No communication was needed from now on. A pack member just saw through your head and went on from there.

The scent then passed through the line and I began to grow worried.

Leah and Seth phased in and Jake told them to take first line.

_Sam, put two of yours on first line_, Jacob thought.

Sam responded back asking where the trail had so far lead.

_It went around the second line then turned into the wind. It wasn't just passing through_.

I ran faster thinking that I was wrong about scaring off the mate.

**Ashley POV**

I'd gotten an unbelievably large amount of people who called about the spots; I would definitely be able to find two people for the house. I'd even gotten a call while I was already busy on the phone. I knew he was a friend of Embry, but I didn't feel like ruling him out just yet. The boys could surprise me for all I knew.

After I blew out the scented candles on the table I took the matches still sitting on the table and put them in my pocket, planning on putting them away when I was done with my dirty dishes. I walked to the sink and put them all in, turning on the faucet.

I entertained the idea of having Embry and one of his friends in the house as I washed my dirty dishes. I had officially moved back into the house and it was very weird. It was even weirder because it was so darn quiet. It wouldn't be if I had a bunch of high-school grads living here. I might pick one of his friends because I knew they would be able to protect me from Mary. No woman would go down without a fight for their man. But I was comfortable enough now because I had people out there that would protect me.

I dried off my hands with a dishtowel after putting my dishes on the drying rack to the right of the sink.

"I'm back sweetheart." I turned around and the dishtowel fell to the ground. _Mary_ was standing right in front of me. I tried to stay focused on the moment instead of the memories that were brought back up by seeing her.

"It's- it's nice that you finally made it," I said.

Mary's face turned into a fierce scowl. I needed to get her out of the house _now_. But now that she has found me she was gonna be on my ass until I was dead. I glanced down and picked up the dishtowel. The hook for it wasn't too far from the door. I had to keep her busy at the least, the boys were sure to know she had been in La Push, hopefully.

"So…," I said. "What took you so long?" I slowly walked over to the hook/door.

"I hit a few bumps in the road on the way here," Mary said, beginning to walk into the kitchen, towards me.

"That's too bad," I said, not sounding sympathetic of course. "We'll at least you still made it." I placed a hand on the counter, trying to calm my nerves before I made a run for the door. It was only three feet from me, but Mary could beat me there with the thirty she had to cross. I just had to go for it, and once out I had to let the guys know what was up. A nice loud scream should be able to do the trick.

"Yes, at least I did," Mary said. Mid-sentence I lunged forward ripped open the door and got out. I managed to get ten feet out into the yard before she tackled me. I screamed as loud as I possibly could until my lungs ran out of air. I tried to get away turning from my back onto my stomach, trying to pull myself out of her circling arms. It was like I was fighting a statue, there was no give to her at all. She let one arm go to grab onto my shirt. It ripped as I pulled myself away. I landed a solid kick to her face but it was like a kicked a wall. She still flinched a little and I rose to me feet. I was completely defenseless… or was I? Pretty much everything could burn, couldn't it?

I ripped off my shirt, the buttons popping.

"What are you doing, you little bitch?" Mary asked.

I was a little cold in just a tang-top now, but maybe after making a little fire, I would be feeling warmer. I pulled out the matches from my pocket, not saying anything to Mary, so I wouldn't give anything away. Opening the pack, I pulled out two matches. I stroked them both at the same time, just in case one didn't catch. I held my shirt by the sleeve and lit it from the bottom. I quickly threw it at Mary.

I didn't get a minor in science for nothing. The cotton-rayon blend lit fast and caught Mary's own clothes on fire, but not as much as my own shirt. Mary started screaming and I covered my ears as I quickly backed away. Mary threw off my shirt and started to pat out the burns on her own clothing. I glanced over to the shed, which I knew contained at least a couple gallons of gasoline and some kerosene. But I saw a line of wolves at the edge of my forest, watching Mary. Out of the line of seven or so wolves, one moved forward and I couldn't help but take a couple steps back. The sleek grey wolf paused then walked around me to stand between me and Mary. I turned with him as he circled me and faced him head on as he walked forward, herding me away and into the woods. I came to stand between two of the wolves. Then the far ends of the line then ran forward, attacking Mary. The sandy colored wolf on my left, walked around in front of me – blocking my view. It turned its gaze looking down at me.

"You don't think I can see this bitch die after she killed my family?" I asked seriously.

The wolf looked up at the small grey wolf on my right, and then backed away. I glared down at Mary as she got torn apart by the wolves. I couldn't help my grimaces from her screams as she was torn apart.

Finally it was silent.

"Toss it all in the pit," I said aloud, to no one in particular. I gestured to the large fire pit we had made about a decade ago that was to my left, mirroring where the shed was.

The wolves that had torn it apart carried the pieces that were left of Mary and put them in. I walked over to the shed, opening it up to grab the red gascan. I lugged it across the yard over to the fire pit. I began to pour the gas over the dead vampire as the Pack brought the rest of Mary over. After emptying the can, I tossed it to the ground. I pulled out the matches that had saved my life and lit one match. I tossed it onto the gas drenched remains, they quickly burst into flames.

I watched it for a moment. Purplish smoke was rising into the sky. I wasn't worried about the neighbors. There was enough tree cover so that they couldn't see much into the yard. I looked up when I saw Embry walking over.

"Are you okay?" He asked, stopping at my side.

I sighed and looked back down at the fire. "Yeah."

He wrapped an arm around my shoulders. The Pack began to move out.

"Wait!" I called, and they all stopped. "If any of you want to live at the house you can."

One of the wolves ran into the woods and Quill came running back, wrapping me in a giant hug. I stumbled back a step from the force of the hug, but could only stand, my arms held to my sides by Quil.

"Jake was right to love you," Quil mumbled.

"You're welcome?" I said into his shoulder. He wasn't wearing any shirt and he was so tall. It felt so strange to feel short with the Pack.

Quil let go of me. "But I'm not the only one, I hope you pick wisely."

"See you tomorrow Quil," I said, turning to go to the house.

"Are you sure you're going to be alright?" Embry asked.

"Unless you want to sleep on the couch…" I said. Having someone with me would help ease my mind.

"He'll be happy to," Quil said. I glanced over my shoulder to see Quil and the others walk into the woods.

I looked up to Embry. "You don't have to. You've already done enough."

Embry walked over to me and placed a light hand on my back. "Let's go inside." We walked into the house the fire still crackling high into the sky.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12:

When I woke up the next morning I didn't wake up to my alarm, but to voices. I looked over at my alarm clock and saw that it was almost seven o'clock. I slowly climbed out of bed and left my room. I was able to hear the voices clearer as I went down the stairs.

"Things are settled… then when?"

"For us… but not for…"

Both voices were clearly male. Stepping off of the stairs, I wondered who Embry had let into the house.

"…clearly likes…knows everything…except for…"

God, this partial conversation was getting annoying. I quickly walked through the house to see Embry and Jacob standing in front of the front door. They'd stopped talking when I entered the hallway.

"Hey Embry. Jacob, what are you doing here?" I asked.

"Just came to pick-up Embry for school," Jacob said.

"Oh, OK. Just remember to come back here after. I may be picking someone from your pack, but I'm not going to outright turn everyone down – it wouldn't be nice," I said.

Embry nodded. "Sure, I'll be here."

Embry and Jacob left the house, carrying out their discussion somewhere else. Automatically, I let my feet carry me to the kitchen. I thought about last night as I put together a bowl of cereal. Embry had used his magical comforting abilities to get me to relax. As the time passed with Embry sitting at my side, we discussed his pack. He fully disclosed any questions remaining questions about the pack. I looked down to realize that I'd stopped eating and my cereal was getting soggy. I quickly downed the rest of the bowl before it became disgustingly soggy. I'd got too caught up reliving the few short moments I'd spent in Embry's arm. _Why was I so comforted by Embry_? I thought. I remembered wanting to ask if it was part of the Pack thing, but decided against it. Because what if it wasn't? Then I'd be alienating another person. I didn't need that.

I washed my bowl and placed it in the drying rack. Then I went upstairs to shower and change. While I was in the shower I prepared myself mentally for the amount of kids that were stopping by today. The first was coming at three and I'd be busy until five. I'd be picking from the Pack, because I felt that I owed it to them and by giving them their own room I would be helping them out, and I was happy to do so.

Leah was a given, I couldn't live with just guys after growing up with all my sisters. Next up were the graduating seniors, Quil and Embry. A smirk formed on my face. I'd turn the house into Pack Central. It would be the one place where they wouldn't have to hide their secrets (only some of the boys were 'out' to their families). I'd guess I could deal with that, I had a month away from them remaining and if it ever did become a problem I could just kick them out. But I wouldn't be so willing to do that, not wanting it to come back and bite me in the ass being mean to my protectors – or, to the tribe's protectors. It'd be hard to break my reflex of calling them _my _protectors.

I drove into Forks to get some sheets for my parent's bed. It just felt weird to use all their stuff. I was planning on moving into their room, to make room for the Pack members I'd be letting in. Top floor was girls only, Leah getting my old room. Quil and/or Embry would get the girls' old room on the first floor. So with that push, I was hoping to move into my… new room today. I'd still keep the sheets that were currently on the bed as spares, but a new style wouldn't be a bad change.

My cart was full with some new pillows, pillow covers, and a sheet & comforter set. It felt good to do something so normal and not have fear overcome me. I knew I had no reason to worry anymore – there was no longer any person out to get me – but I still couldn't help but get the least bit anxious going out in public. For some reason I couldn't get myself to get gas in Forks. I barely made it back to La Push.

I emptied out my wallet filling up my tank, and then headed back home. I had some lunch then got to work changing the sheets on the bed and washing both sets. I switched out the pillow that I used in my room with one of the old ones. I put the new beige and purple sheets on the king sized bed. I threw the comforter over it, with the large helix and corkscrew design on top. It took me ten minutes to get the nice, soft pillow cover on the new body pillow I got at the store. That I placed against the head board. I put a new light purple cover over my usual pillow and over a new pillow. I threw the remaining pillow in the empty closet in my new room.

I went to the dryer and got the old sheets. I folded them and placed them in the linen closet, next to the bathroom which was beyond the stairs, in a mini hallway.

By the time I had transferred all my clothes from my old closet to my… new closet (my mother's old one) it was two o'clock. I walked back into my old room and took down all the posters and pictures on the walls. I hung a majority of them back up in my new room, storing the rest in the other closet. I took down a few of the pictures and set them aside to find a new place for them. A made a mental note to find some new picture frames, hopefully one that was the collage type.

At 2:50 I went downstairs, just in time to let Embry in.

"Hey, Embry. Thanks so much for doing this," I said, following him into the family room.

"Not a problem," Embry said, taking a seat on the couch, looking perfectly at home. "So who have you decided on?"

"Leah's a given. Of course that leaves only Quil to get the old girls' room, but I was wondering… would you want to room with Quil?" I asked. He hadn't called or anything for the spot, but I knew he would be graduating. Embry looked surprised by my question.

"Me… Really?" Embry stuttered out. "I didn't- wouldn't think that…"

"If you meant to stay at home with your Mom, forget that I asked. But if you don't mind sharing a room with Quil, the offer is open. Of course Quil doesn't know… he'd probably be happy about being in his own place," I said, trying to cover my tracks. I had guessed that he would want a spot, but was too shy to ask for some reason or another. It looked like I guessed wrong.

"No, no," Embry said, standing up. "I'm very grateful that you'd offer, Ashley. I just didn't guess…"

"Do you want it or not?" I asked quickly, slightly turning at the sound of the doorbell.

"-Yes," Embry quickly said.

I smiled before turning and walking to the front door.

Aya arrived five minutes early. I vaguely recalled her from high school. She had been a senior when I was a Junior. I knew her name, but that was all I knew about her. I tried my best not to seem bias or let-on about the spots now being closed. The 'interview' lasted for fifteen dreaded minutes.

I waved goodbye to her from the door thinking, _what a bitch_.

"What a bitch. I'd reconsider hitting a girl after what she said," Embry commented, walking into the hallway from the family room.

I had interviewed Aya to the kitchen while Embry easily listened in from the family room.

"Let's hope the next person is far nicer," I said, closing the front door.

"Are you okay?" Embry asked, concerned.

I waved a hand. "I'm fine."

Embry observed me, doubting my answer.

"I said I'm fine, Embry. Really," I said.

"When is the next one?" Embry asked, moving on the conversation.

"3:30, Leah is coming at four, that's when I'll tell her where she'll be. Some Brock dude will be here at 4:30 and Quil at five," I answered.

Embry nodded. "Do you want me to just chill in the family room for all of them?"

"Yeah, pretty much. You can obviously come out for when Leah and Quil are here. Maybe talk to Quil about sleeping arrangements," I said.

"You know you are really cool doing this for us," Embry said.

I shrugged. "I can trust you guys."

"Just know that you're totally awesome for doing this," Embry said. I smiled at him. "But you know this place is going to be crawling with the Pack once we all move in," Embry said.

"Ugh, using the word crawling does make it sound bad," I said, making a face.

The doorbell rang and I shooed Embry off. After watching him disappear down the hallway, I opened the front door and froze. I couldn't believe I didn't attach the name to the face, or should I say body.

"Jack?" I said, surprised. The boy who I had crushed on _the hardest_ in my whole high school career was now standing in front of me.

"Hey, Ashley," Jack greeted.

"Um, sorry, I just didn't think…" I said, I knew he was with that bitch Dakota when we graduated. I never thought he'd be leaving that beautiful girl. I let Jack in, memories of high school life flashing in my mind. The small moments we had shared flirting before Dakota won him out, fully bringing out the jealousy beast in me. My friend Hannah and I had spray-painted her fancy _un_used car the night of prom, clearly writing profanity over it with spray paint.

"I know, we broke up but she kept the ring, so I'm on a bit of a budget after she kicked me out of the house," Jack said.

I led him into the kitchen, motioning for him to take a seat at the table. "That's too bad, I'm sorry it didn't work out."

Jack brushed it off. "I'm just happy I'm able to still stay on my feet. But I'm afraid I'll have to fall on my ass and move in with my parents until everything gets sorted out with Dakota."

I seriously considered telling Quil to forget it so I could get another swing at Jack. He was still super fit, perhaps even more so since graduation. He looked just as handsome too.

"Well, I hope everything does get sorted out, Jack. You really are a great guy and you deserve better," I said.

Jack smiled at the compliment. "Thanks Ash, you were always the charmer." He winked at me and I laughed. "It may have been a little prank we all pulled voting for you, but you really were the most likely to talk yourself out of a ticket." I laughed. "It's true! You are such a people person, Ashley. It seemed like you could get along with everybody."

I shrugged. "Well, not always…"

Jack leaned forward, reaching his right hand out across the table. "I really wish I'd known back then what I knew now. Because if I had, I would've picked you."

I couldn't help but blush. I wasn't the only charmer in the room. "That's really sweet of you Jack… but you won't be any more likely to get a room."

Jack smirked and glanced down at his hand. "Would it be best if I said that was why I was flirting?"

There were two big things I could choose to do. I could agree with him or I could reach my hand out and put it on top of his, saying that I was happily returning his flirtatious comments. I wasn't exactly ready for a relationship, but maybe, by the time we got to that – I may be ready for it. So I hesitantly reached out my left hand to rest on top of his. Jack looked up at me, surprised.

"You weren't the only person in this room flirting," I said quietly. Jack smiled at me and covered my hand with his other hand. "I had the biggest crush on you in high school and now since we're older, the age difference means a whole lot less."

Jack laughed. "Yeah, it's funny how that changes. You could be dating a thirty-year-old and it wouldn't be weird."

I laughed, knowing that I never would. "I'm not so sure about that, but yes that is true."

"Well even if you don't pick me for a roomie, you have my number for whenever you want to call," Jack said.

I stood, pulling my hand from between his hands. "Yes, I'll call you sometime. I'm at school most of the time now, but maybe some weekend…?" I left it open for Jack, so he could choose if he wanted me or not.

"Sure, definitely," Jack said, standing up.

"Well, you'll be getting a call from me no matter what," I said, trying to put on a sweet smile.

Jack stepped forward unexpectedly, leaning in close to peck me on the cheek. He slowly pulled away, probably proud of my stunned expression. "I'll be looking forward to that."

Jack left the house by himself; I was too stunned to move. A smile crept onto my face, and I raised a hand to lightly touch my right cheek, the one that Jack's lips had lightly pressed onto my skin. I was so caught up with myself that I didn't notice Embry standing in the archway of the kitchen. I only realized he was there when the doorbell rang. I looked up, startled by the sound. Embry backed away in order to let me through. I hurried past him and his changed attitude.

I quickly opened the door to see Leah.

"Are you really going to hand the spots out to the Pack, or do you still want to do interviews?" Leah asked.

"Yes, you have one of the spots," I said, easily smiling after spending some time with Jack.

Leah grinned. "I'd hug you if I could!"

"Why couldn't you?" I questioned, stepping away from the door to let her in.

Leah walked into the hallway. "It's just not my style. Eventually we might get to the 'hugging' stage, but not yet."

"Because being emotional is hardly something Leah ever does," Embry commented from the end of the hall.

"Oh, be quiet Em," Leah said.

"You better get along well with Embry and Quil, because they'll be living here too," I commented.

Leah looked over at Embry surprised. "Embry and Quil? As long as I'm not sharing a room with them."

"No. Why don't I show you to your room?" I suggested.

Leah agreed and I led her through the house, up the stairs. I opened the door to what would be her room. It looked out over the front lawn and had a bay-window sort-of-thing working for it. It was really three walls that were built out of the face of the house. The three full-length windows let in a lot of light, making the room a lot more spacious than it already was.

"Wow, this is a really nice room," Leah commented. She looked around the walls. "Did this used to be yours?"

"Yeah," I answered. "I moved into my parents' room. You'll have free range with the room to do whatever, just no demolishing anything."

Leah walked across the room, to the opposite wall of the almost-bay-window and opened the closet. "Oh this is awesome, I'll take it." She closed the door and walked to stand in front of me. "How much will it be?"

"Until the end of the school year it will be split between you and me," I said.

"Cable and utilities?" Leah asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, the house is actually paid off, and I don't have the need to make a profit out of this. I just need someone in the house and to keep watch on it. If you want to get anything for the house, you can talk to me and maybe we can split it, otherwise you'll be paying for anything you get."

Leah tilted her head to the side. "What about groceries?"

"You eat what you buy, you can only take from it if it's offered to you," I said, drawing the line somewhere. I really only expected food trouble for when the boys moved in.

"So what does it total up to?" Leah said.

"200 and that's the two way split. Only 100 once the boys move in," I explained.

Leah nodded her head. "Sounds like a deal," Leah said, holding out her hand. I took it, happy to have it settled. "I'll move in tomorrow if that's okay."

"That's fine. I'll be here if you need any help," I said, walking out of the room.

Leah followed behind me as I walked down the stairs.

"I think I'll be good. The hardest part would be dealing with my Mom, but I'm sure at the same time she'll be happy I'll be leaving. She'll only have to worry about one kid being home when she brings Charlie over."

"Charlie, who is that?" I asked, stopping in the family room.

"Charlie Swan, police chief of Forks," Embry said.

"Oh, him," I said, dropping the subject. I'd met him more than I'd ever like to.

"What? Are you saying that you got tangled up with the Forks authority?" Leah questioned.

"Umm, sort of. It was more of the fact that they didn't have anything on my friend and I, and I've had a speeding ticket or two," I mumbled, wanting the conversation to be over.

The doorbell rang.

"Saved by the bell," Leah said. "We'll chat once you're done with your 'interview'." She took a seat at the couch looking around the room.

"Just don't let him hear you," I said, leaving the room when the doorbell rang again.

I answered the door and had a quick little chat with Brock, telling him that I will call if he got the spot. I went back into the living room to find Leah and Embry in a quiet but heated discussion. Their conversation dropped when I stood in front of them.

"Will there be anybody else that will be interrupting our nice little conversation, Roomie?" Leah asked.

"No, Quil is the only one left and he's supposed to be coming at 4:30," I said.

"Knowing Quil, he'll be here in five minutes at most," Embry said. "He was really excited about getting out of the house."

"I could tell," I said. I sat down on the love seat that was perpendicular to the couch Leah and Embry sat on.

"He'll probably want some sort of new-roomie-bonding-time dinner," Leah said, glancing at me sidelong.

"We could all run to the grocery store real quick," I said.

Leah grinned, leaning towards me. "Or not real quick. We could pull a prank on him. Leave the house, all the lights turned off and all the doors locked."

"Are you sure it wouldn't, I don't know, upset him?" I asked. I could picture the puppy-dog look on his face when he found the house empty and dark.

"He'll be fine with it, especially with the soothing feeling of food in his stomach," Leah assured me. I glanced over at Embry and he shrugged.

Trusting the pair, I nodded. "Okay, let's go."

"Shotgun!" Leah shouted.

**Quil POV**

I paced in my room watching the clock. I wanted to get there early, but not too early that I would interrupt some other interview. If I ran as fast as I possibly could it would take not even a minute to get there. So as soon as my clock hit 4:44…

I bolted out of my room and out the back door, tearing off my shirt as I went. I stopped in the woods, struggling with my shorts slightly. I was annoyed that I'd have to tie them to my leg because there wasn't a shorts stock nearby Ashley's house. I ran off like a bullet to the woods behind the house. I quickly phased back, put on the shorts and ran to the back door of the house. The lights weren't on and I couldn't hear anyone inside the house.

I lightly rapped on the window pane of the door and waited a moment. There was no movement inside of the house. I looked inside some more and saw that it was a kitchen. To the far right was a table with five chairs around it. On the left was the kitchen area. A grin spread across my face at the sight of the stainless steel mega-fridge they had (mega in comparison to the one at the house) that was beyond the short little island that couldn't be more than four feet in length. Two little stools were pushed together underneath the bit of overhang counter.

I looked down and tried the knob to see if it was open. Nothing. I refrained from growing frustrated.

"Ashley," I called against the door. I listened in for any movement in the house. There weren't any heartbeats sounding in any part of the house, except for a few that were quite possibly in the attic. I thought about telling Ashley about her little mice problem.

I went around to the front door and rang the doorbell anyways.

"Ashley?" I said. I leaned my forehead against the door. Is this what I got to be so eager about moving out? I mean I loved my mom; she was my mother, but… I just know I need this bit of independence before I get with Claire. Sure, I understood I wouldn't be here until the very day that I got a place for the two of us. Embry and Ashley would sure get together before then. When that time came, I'd go looking again. But right now, I needed to get myself out of the house and try to live a normal life on my own. There was money for the Pack that we got for the hours that we patrolled, because it took time away from when we could be at jobs. Leah had proven that a job and patrols were hard to juggle. For us still in school, it was basically impossible.

I knocked on the wooden door, knowing no one was there, but did it anyways to make myself feel better. Ashley had forgotten about me, running off into the sunset with Embry in hand and Leah living in her house.

**Ashley POV**

We all kept an eye out for Quil as I pulled onto my street. As I turned into my driveway I saw Quil sitting against the house, his head resting between his knees- that was before I turned onto the gravel of the driveway. His head came up an expression of surprise on his face and then excitement as he got up and ran over to the car. Leah and I were laughing, both of us sitting in the front.

Leah unbuckled her seatbelt and got out of the car as it was still rolling up the driveway.

"Ha, your face! It was hilarious!" Leah said, meeting with Quil mid-way.

"So, wait- you're?" Quil was hesitant to ask.

"We're roomies! Embry too," Leah added.

Quil glanced over at Embry before, running over to me.

"Uh, Qui-!" I got cut short by Quil, hitting me with so much force that I was forced up against my car.

"Ohmygod! I'm so sorry Ashley –but you're the best," Quil said, giving me a nice bear-hug. "I love you so much… You're the best!"

I slowly shifted under his grip, getting my arms out from under his own to hug him back. "It's all good Quil. I know that you're just… excited." I wasn't so sure about the 'I love you' part, but that I'd attribute to the excited bit.

"Tha-ank yo-ou Ash-ley," Quil stretched the words out as he whispered them into my ear.

"Okay, Quil, you're freak-factor has just hit fucking 100," Leah said from my left. I hadn't heard her come due to the hug I was still stuck in.

Quill turned to face Leah, while still hugging me rotating our little arrangement 90 degrees clockwise. "You're just jealous!"

Leah scoffed. "Jealous of what?"

"You didn't get a hug from Mama Wolf!" Quil said. "You okay with me calling you Mama Wolf?" Quil whispered into my ear.

"Sure?" I said, wondering when the hug will end.

"Oh, so now you're so tight with her that you're giving her nick-names?" Leah teased. "Well, guess who has the biggest room, and is living by themselves?"

"Pssh, I'll be living-" Quil broke off to turn completely around to look at Embry, who had been standing behind him. He looked at him a moment before turning back around. I was slightly able to keep up with him and his movements. "Whatever," Quil said.

"Quil, are you done yet?" Embry asked.

Quil instantly released me. He looked back at Embry, glancing over his shoulder. He looked back at me giving me a sheepish smile.

"Sorry."

"… It's okay, Quil. Do you want to help with the groceries?" I asked, attempting to get him off the awkwardly long hug moment.

"Sure," Quil said with a shrug of his large shoulders.

"It's for all of us dummy," Leah said, pulling one of the bags from the trunk.

Quil's eyes brightened and he looked down at me smiling. "I'd give you another hug for being so awesome but I think that last one can count as two."

"It could count as twelve," Leah said, walking inside with some bags.

Quil quickly walked over to the trunk and lifted five of the bags out. Embry got the rest and I was happily left with closing the trunk. I held the door for the boys and then followed them inside.

**AN: **I do not know why I do this! Why do I always create some rival character only for Embry?I did that Quil thing because I felt like it (even if I did say POVs would be between Ashley and Embry)** I'm really asking for some reviews here in BOLD, because I **_**really**_** want them and because if I don't… all of my 31 **alerters and **14** favs won't be happy. I get it, it is a depressing story – but give me something! It is getting better (at the same time that I deviate from the DSM-IV-TR) oh and also **do you want the dinner scene with Ashley, Embry, Leah and Quil?**

**& Now a message from mon Beta!:**

_**You'r**_**e**_** being very mean to poor Embry! Poor thing! Your stories great! People, REVIEW! I'm an author myself and it means soooooo much to get them! I love seeing them in my inbox every time. She's an amazing author and her story is great and it can only get better. ~With Mucho Love, Fanpire95, aka Beta-extraordinaire!**_


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

"Could I, like, move in right now?" Quil asked, placing the grocery bags on the counter, next to where Leah had put hers.

"Have you talked to your parent's about it?" I asked, as I started to unpack the bags.

"Uh, well not exactly," Quil said, sitting down at the seat at the island.

"So, you haven't brought up the fact that you're planning on moving out of the house to live on your own?" I said.

"Well, I won't be living on my own, there's you, Leah and Embry," Quil pointed out.

I rolled my eyes as I put away the chips and popcorn bags in the 'unhealthy' drawer. I crumpled up the empty plastic bag and threw it over at Quil. I moved to the next bag to realize there was a lot of junk food left.

"Quil, why don't you start unpacking things so I can start the dinner?" I suggested, pulling the skillet and pot from the bottom cabinet. I poured a bit of oil on the skillet then turned the heat on medium. I took the 2 pounds of beef and added the seasonings before placing it all in the skillet. "Put the rest of the chips in the last cabinet," I said pointing to my left as I used my other hand to stir. I put the spoon aside and began chopping up the onions, garlic and mushrooms. It only took the boys and Leah a few minutes for everything to be put away. Embry and Leah sat on the stools by the small island. Embry was leaned up against the counter to my left. I set up the pot to cook the macaroni.

"How much longer?" Quil asked.

"Fifteen minutes," I said as I added the onions, stirring the mixture. Next I added the mushrooms and garlic and stirred for two minutes. After that was the addition of macaroni, beef broth and sour cream. "So how are you going to bring up the fact that you're moving out, Quil?"

"I don't know, I'll have to do it sometime before graduation," Quil said.

"So that's when you're going to move in?" I asked. "After your graduation?"

"That's the plan," Quil said.

"Alright, because if you were planning on moving in during the school year, me and Leah would be totally fine with that," I said, looking over my shoulder to see Quil.

"What? No I'm not," Leah said. "I like the way things are right now."

"If they move in now it would be a four way split between the cost… meaning less for you to pay," I said.

"Oh," Leah said, understanding what I meant.

"I can still come over and hang out, right?" Quil asked.

"Uh, sure. I mean it wouldn't be like you were staying the night and as long as Leah and I are here I'd be okay with it. That's not to say you couldn't crash here if you had a late shift and didn't feel like going all the way back home." I turned my attention back to the skillet, stirring. "If it's not too dumb of me to offer, the whole pack could come over this weekend."

"Oh, that's smart Ashley, just turn this place into Pack breeding ground right away," Leah said. "Let's keep it restricted and only let the upper pack come."

"I haven't really met any of the younger ones. I mean I already knew Hunter… but I barely know any of the others. What are all of their names?" I said.

"Going by age it's Colin, Brady, Hunter, Finn, Tyson, Zach, Wyatt, Ryan, Nathan," Embry answered.

"And Nathan is only – ten?" I said.

"Yeah," Embry answered.

I looked down into the skillet, flipping over some pieces. "Could I just… adopt one of them?" I asked, looking at Embry.

"They all have parents…" he said.

"No, I mean like I'd be a secondary Mom. Well, third actually with Emily being Sam's wife," I said.

"Like Mama Wolf?" Quil said.

"OK, really?" I turned away from the stove to face Quil. "Are you just gonna keep calling me that until I become all motherly and nice to you, baby wolf?"

"Hey, I'll be high ranked when the packs merge," Quil protested.

"But not Gamma or Delta," I said. The three looked at me with confused stares. "So you don't continue with the latin names down the tiers?" Quil shook his head. "OK, forget I said anything."

"How do you know Latin?" Embry asked.

"My roommate from freshman year took Latin at her school in Maine. Why she came all the way over to Washington, I do not know." I said, turning back to the stove.

"Wait, so she taught you the whole alphabet?" Quil asked. "Why?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "We were bored? I don't know. Now I just carry around this useless bit of information of the alphabet and a few root words. Now back to the pups' situation – I wanna meet them."

Leah groaned as Quil answered me. "I'm sure they'll love to come over, especially if you cook food for them. I could put out word that your making dinner Friday night and you'll be getting the whole pack to show up, plus girlfriends and wives."

"Oh yeah, so that would be around twenty people?" I said.

"Yeah, twenty people and forty stomachs," Leah said.

"I'm fully aware of one wolf consuming two servings of food and more," I said.

"So are you actually being serious about this?" Leah asked. "This whole dinner for the pack?"

"Yeah, I mean it'll me my own little 'thank you' to the pack and besides… It'll give me something to do," I said. "Leah do you want to get the plates?"

"The pack doesn't need a formal thank you, Ashley," Embry said. "We were all just doing our jobs."

"And you should all get a little something from someone who knows you all for what you are and for what you do for the tribe," I said. Leah placed a stack of plates beside me and I spooned some onto a plate for me. I grabbed some cheese and sprinkled it on top of it. I reached into the drawer on my right and pulled out some forks. I turned off the heat and stepped away from the stove. "All done." I grabbed my plate and a fork as the others came forward to serve themselves.

Once dinner was over I could sense that Embry wanted to talk. He lingered in the kitchen as I was washing the dishes. He was leaning against the archway to the kitchen, watching me as I dried my hands and hung up the dishtowel.

"What's up, Embry?" I asked, walking forward to stand by him.

"I was wondering… if I could move in now," he said.

"Oh, of course you can," I said. "Move in whenever you want. You have free reign with the room so feel free to paint it."

"Thanks Ashley," Embry said.

I placed a light hand on his arm. "You're welcome, Embry." I walked off to the family room where Quil and Leah had moved to.

I didn't sleep as well as I had last night. It felt like every hour I woke up. By one AM I decided that I might as well stay up. I flipped on the lamp sitting on my left, quickly ducking my head at the bright light. After a moment I got out of bed and trudged into my old room. I stood at the doorway staring at the empty bed, wondering if that was the reason why I wasn't sleeping well. I walked over and flopped down to lay on it and stayed.

Time passed and sleep didn't overcome me. I was growing more frustrated with the fact that I wasn't going to sleep. Sure I was having some nightmares, but I was _tired!_ So fucking tired, yet I wasn't going to sleep! I rolled out of the bed and walked over to the stairs, my right hand trailing along the wall as I shuffled my feet across the carpet. The stairs seemed to creek more loudly in the night than ever before. I sat in the loveseat that faced the TV. Realizing too late that the remote was not somewhere stuffed between the cushions, I got up and went over to the TV, picking up the remote. That's when I caught a glimpse of the DVDs through the glass of the cabinet that the TV rested on.

I sat down on my butt and opened one of the doors. I fingered through some of the movies, some of them very old. I opened the other cabinet that housed the very last VHSs in the world. I pulled out Airbud, the very original and popped it into the player. I was scared to use if because I feared it would break, leaving me unable to watch VHS any longer. As the previews played, I ran to the hall closet and pulled a blanket from the shelf on-top.

After settling on the love seat I watched the previews, scared that it would break if I used fast-forward. I cried a little bit at the end, but I still wasn't sleepy. The credits finally ended and the screen showed blue. I didn't feel like getting up from my comfortable spot, so I stayed there, letting the TV bathe the whole room in blue.

I rested my head against the arm of the chair, trying to think comforting thoughts.

"ASHLEY!"

I jerked awake. There was a bad crick in my neck for sleeping in an awkward position so it took me moment to get out of the loveseat.

"Ashley, get your ass up off the chair and unlock the door!"

I looked to my left to see Leah in the window. I walked over to the bay area with my blanket dragging on the floor.

"Give me a minute, Leah!" I shouted back. Turning away I smiled, it had felt nice to let out a nice yell. I walked out of the living room and made my way to the front door. I flipped the deadbolt and opened the door. Leah was standing on the porch with two suitcases.

She walked past me, with one suitcase in each hand. I closed the door and walked into the kitchen for some breakfast.

I was glad that I had gotten so much sleep after all. It was nine o'clock. Leah stopped in the kitchen on her way back to her car.

"I have fourth shift Monday through Friday, unless I switch with Sam. So I'll be gone from 11 to 3, besides my real work schedule," Leah said.

I turned slightly to look at her. "Okay."

Leah paused when she caught sight of my face. "Are you alright, Ashley?"

I sighed. "I didn't sleep very well last night. I'm amazed that I actually slept. I wonder what actually got me to go to sleep."

"You slept just fine the other night?" Leah asked.

I turned around to take another bit of cereal. "Yeah."

"Maybe you can't sleep well in an empty house," Leah said. She walked out of the room.

I finished off my bowl of cereal but still felt hungry. I left my blanket at the seat when I brought my bowl to the sink. I went to the cabinets and got out a pan to put on the stove. I got a bagel from a new bag and cut it in half before placing it in the toaster oven. I went to the fridge and took two eggs and the butter out. Using the same knife that I used to split the bagel, I cut a bit of butter off the stick to put in the pan to melt. With the heat on medium I made sure the bottom of the pan was fully covered with a bit of butter. I made myself some scrambled eggs adding a bit of milk to them after cracking the eggs into the pan.

When the toaster oven _ding_-ed I ran over and took the bagel out, quickly dropping it onto a plate. I finished up the eggs and put them on the plate with the bagel. Taking a fork from a drawer, I went back to my seat.

I could hear Leah coming down the stairs after her third trip up. I wondered if Leah was going to put the old mattress in the dump or throw it out on the curb.

"Can I have some?" Leah asked.

"Sure," I answered. I put a bit of my eggs on top of one slice of bagel and ate it.

A few minutes later Leah was sitting beside me eating her food.

"So, when is your last day of classes?" Leah asked.

"Classes are over May ninth but the last week is exams. I'll be coming home on Wednesday the fourteenth," I answered.

"So only less than two months, that's not too bad," Leah said.

I nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I may come home every weekend now. I actually don't have classes on Friday, so I'll be coming down then."

"Alright," Leah said.

I took a bite of bagel before continuing. "So make sure the parties are all cleaned up by then."

Leah looked up at me surprised. "Parties, who said anything about parties? The only parties I'll be having is drown-your-sorrows-in-food parties with one member, me."

I laughed. "You seem cool enough, Leah. And the house is open to anyone in the pack, unless you don't want them here."

"Wait, you're giving me full right to the house? Full kick-people out power?"

"Yeah, you're going to be living here now. We'll be sharing the house, for the most part," I said. "Obviously I have more say because it _is_ my own house, but know you have full rights to put your input in on any… issues."

A small smile was showing in Leah's face. "Cool."

I got up from my seat and picked up my dishes. I went over to the sink and began cleaning up.

A moment later Leah got up and joined me at the sink. She dried off the plates and dishes and found her way around the kitchen, putting them all away.

"Thanks, Leah," I said when I was all done. I handed the last cup over to her and she took it, drying it off with a worn out dish-towel.

"We're housemates now," Leah said. She put away the cup and hung up the dish towel. "I'm going out to the grocery store, do you need anything?"

I paused as I picked up the blanket that was draped over the chair I had sat in. "Some more eggs and OJ… and maybe some ice cream?"

"What kind?" Leah asked.

"Any Push-Pops if there are any left, if not any Ben and Jerry's would do," I said. Maybe I could start my own drown-my-sorrows club of my own.

Leah nodded and left out the front door. I then went to my room to get my laptop; I brought it downstairs into the living room. I settled myself on the loveseat and checked my email. Then after deleting all the junk mail I got to work on my assignment for business class. I wrote the short three page paper that was due yesterday. I saved it, putting it aside to go over it once again later in the day before emailing it to my professor. Leah came in then with some bags of groceries. I left her to it, knowing she was capable of doing it herself while making a mental note to help her out next time to show I wasn't a lazy housemate. I got half-way through another paper before I stopped for a break.

As I digitally window shopped I decided that I was done with work for the day. My professors were being very lenient giving that the semester was almost over, and I should take full advantage of that. Not to be a lazy student, but because I would really need it. I actually did end up buying some things online. I got a new lamp for the family room and two picture frames that could hold a combined total of 16 pictures.

Leah had gone up to her room when she was done with the groceries. As she passed I said a quick 'hey'.

I went to the bathroom before I finished up my second paper. I went over the first and skimmed for clarity and spelling. I then attached it in an email with the school account and sent it to my professor.

My stomach was beginning to grumble so I made some dinner for myself. By nature of habit I guess, Leah came down to join me. I gave her a small smile as we sat during dinner, happy to have someone with me now. Having Leah with me might help me start feeling better and less lonely.

I stayed up late reading a book, waiting for sleepiness to come over me. It never did and I finished the book a few minutes past midnight. I tossed the book onto the bedside table on my right. I stared at the wall wondering why I wasn't sleeping so well. I'd gotten a few normal nights in since the accident. I was still trying to figure out why, all of a sudden I couldn't get a blink of sleep. A pitiful whine came from me.

"Why?" I said aloud. My one little question would possibly never be answered. Why was my family taken from me? Why me? Why? Why was I always stressed out? Why did I feel anxious half the time? Why couldn't I go to sleep? "Maybe it's because of all the questions swirling in your head," I answered aloud. I sat for a moment, up against the headboard, as I waited for some feeling of sleep to come over me. I sighed and turned off the two lamps – one on each bedside table.

Staring up at the ceiling I began to count backwards from one-hundred. When I hit zero I rolled onto my side growing frustrated. I spread my fingers out on the purple bedspread, tracing my own looping design with my finger. I sighed following the motions of my finger with my eyes…

I faded in and out of sleep throughout the rest of the night. I was awake for when Leah got up, hearing her go down the stairs and the front door slam shut. I decided to stay in bed and try to catch up with my sleep. I finally climbed out of bed around noon. I went through the motions of the day, eating and doing school work. I took a long shower before going to bed hoping to calm myself for bed. I took a textbook with me to bed and read that until I finally fell asleep. I got a solid six hours of sleep when I woke up at twelve.

I ate my 'breakfast' alone, Leah out on patrol. For once I actually felt energized. I got dressed for a day spent out of the house. I went out of the house, locking it behind me. I walked into the street heading for first beach. It took only five minutes to get there with my long legs. First beach was the nicest out of the three in my opinion, probably because you didn't have to go on a hike to get to it.

I walked along the beach, the wind blowing my hair into my face. I got halfway down the beach when I noticed something in the woods. Looking to my left I could see someone coming out of the woods with no shirt on. By the fact that they wore no shirt alerted me to the fact that it was a pack member.

"Hey, Embry what are you doing here?" I asked as he ran forward.

He stopped to stand in front of me. "My last class is a study hall. So I leave early and run patrol. How are you?" Embry said after taking in my appearance.

"Alright," I answered. "I'm just feeling kind of bored at home alone."

"I'm not officially on patrol, we could hang out and do something if you like," Embry offered.

"Thing is, I don't know what I want to do. I just know I don't want to be doing school work."

Embry smiled. "I know the feeling." Embry glanced behind me. "So, why the beach?"

I dug the toe of my shoe into the dirt. "I just wanted some fresh air I guess." I ran a hand over my face to tuck my hair behind my ear only to have it blown out of place by the wind. I smiled and Embry did as well, which reminded me of something. "So how is your point game going?"

"My what?"

"Your self-constructed game of getting points for when someone laughs or smiles," I said.

"Oh, that game. I kind of lost track," Embry said.

"Well what would your best guess be?" I asked.

Embry shrugged. "Fifty?"

"Not bad, you're halfway there," I said. "Wanna join me on the rest of my walk?"

"Sure," Embry said.

Embry walked on my left as I continued down the beach. We walked in silence for a moment as I thought. I truly considered Embry a friend of mine now. It felt kind of strange to feel so strongly about him after knowing him for a short while, but in the end I trusted my gut and it told me that I could be with Embry and never have to be scared or guarded.

"I feel like that I know you so well now that I don't know what to talk to you about," I said.

Embry looked over at me. "I feel the same way."

"Yeah?" I said, turning my head to look at Embry.

"Yeah," he said.

We continued to walk in silence until we reached the end of First Beach. Embry reached over and took my hand. I looked up at him as he moved to stand in front of me.

"Ashley? Know that any other time that you find yourself bored feel free to call me." Embry let go of my hand. "I find it is easier not to be bored when you're with somebody… even if there isn't much to talk about."

"I'll be sure to remember that whenever I'm home," I said. The cold was beginning to creep in through my jacket, so I felt the need to continue the 'conversation' in a different location. "Well you may be 108 degrees but I'm not, wanna come back home with me?"

"Sure," Embry said. We turned around and as we did, Embry slung his left arm around my shoulders. I looked up at him in surprise, beginning to step out from under his arm. "108 degrees, like you said. If you're cold you could use it." Embry kept his arm around my shoulders, keeping me close to his side.

We walked like that the rest of the way home. If I had been any shorter I would have had some trouble keeping pace with him. When we got inside, I took off my jacket and pulled my thermal out from under my shirt. Embry stood in the hallway, watching me and my learned skills of keeping everything covered as I changed shirts. Still feeling the cold biting at my bones I walked over to Embry and hugged him. I knew I had a strange reason for hugging him, but he was so damn hot! His warm skin felt good on my own, but my own may feel freezing cold to him.

"I know what you're thinking," I said as I still held onto my walking-space-heater friend. "What is she doing randomly hugging me? Well, Embry, my friend, you are so awesomely warm I can't not hug you when I'm this cold."

"Oh," Embry said, as if I answered some question in his head.

"So if you don't mind, I may just stay here for just a moment," I said.

Embry, now fully un-stunned, wrapped his arms around me. "I don't mind. It gives me a purpose."

I laughed, spreading my cold hands out on is back. Embry twitched at the contact. "You're purpose is to protect the tribe Em, not give selfish friends hugs just because they are cold." Embry dropped his head to rest against mine. I couldn't help the hum of pleasure of being enveloped in Embry's warmth. As the chill began to ebb away, I held onto Embry tighter not wanting to let go. Not only was Embry warm, but he was soft – and that wasn't just talking about his skin. His touch was light and soft as he responded to my tighter hold on him. He moved his arm to my upper back, his fingers splaying out. I let out a sigh. For some reason I cared far more about this protector than any of the others. I didn't want to end the hug, because it felt like that any time I would pull my arms away from him would be ten minutes too soon.

My body fully relaxed against Embry's when I was warmed to my very center. Embry's arm's tightened in anticipation of the end of the hug.

"Are they always like this?" A voice asked.

Surprised, I let go of Embry. Looking around him I saw Quil standing next to a boy. He looked to be about sixteen years old, but by the guess that he was a member of the pack he was probably one of the pups.

"No," Quil answered the boy before directing his attention to me. "Ashley, meet Nathan. Nathan this is Ashley."

My face broke into a broad grin, happy Quil had brought the boy over.

"Nice to meet you Nathan," I said. In my good mood I walked over to him and hugged him. When I pulled back Quill jokingly held his arms out for a hug. I waved him off and turned my attention back to Nathan. "So Nathan, do people normally call you Nathan or Nate?"

"My friends usually call me Nate," the boy answered. It was strange that the body of a sixteen-year-old was doing the usual mannerisms of a ten-year-old boy. He looked pretty much like any of the others but a miniature version. He was shorter than me and his face seemed to hold onto its child-like roudness.

"Well, in explanation – I was only hugging him for the warmth," I said, but after it was out of my mouth I felt a pang in my chest knowing it wasn't the only reason I was hugging him.

Nate looked confusedly up at Quil. Quil stepped forward and slung his arm around my shoulder steering me into the kitchen.

"Why don't you say Nate and I get a little snack before our shift starts?" Quil said.

"Sure, help yourselves," I said.

Embry and Nate followed us into the kitchen.

"Really?" Nate said, excited by my nonchalance about them raiding the kitchen.

"Yeah," I said.

Nate moved forward and started going through the cabinets. Quil went straight to the cabinets with the junk-food.

"This is where the good stuff is," Quil said, pulling out a bag and tossing it over to Nate on the opposite end of the kitchen.

"Sweet," Nate said, catching the bag in his hands. He opened up the bag and dug his hand in. Quil walked over to sit at the table.

"So you excited for summer?" I asked Nate.

"Hell yeah," Nate answered, his mouth full of knock-off brand cheese puffs.

"You can grab a drink from the fridge to wash those down," I said.

Nate held onto the bag as he moved over to the refrigerator, pulling the door open with an orange hand. I walked over to get the dish towel.

"Toss me a drink, Nate," Quil called.

I turned around to see a red bottle fly across the kitchen. Quil easily caught the drink in his hand from his seat at the table. He put it down and cracked open the top before gulping it down. For a second I thought if I made the right decision, opening my home to the pack. But then I realized, I loved them for who they were and if I had to deal with them divulging themselves into food or tossing things clear across the room – I would deal with it, unless they didn't clean up their messes, that would be when I would get annoyed. I looked over at Embry who had his eyes on Nate.

"Your shift starts in five. You should probably head out," Embry said.

Nate made a noise of complaint at parting with his bag of food. "He's right, Nate," said Quil getting up from his seat. He rolled up the bag he had consumed more than half of. Quil put it back into the cabinet. He held out his hand for Nate's bag. Nate sadly went over to Quil to hand him the bag, wiping the cheese residue on his shorts. Quil tossed his empty bottle into the recycling and Nate followed his lead.

"See ya Ashley," Quil said, opening the back door.

"Thanks Ashley, nice meeting you," Nate called before closing the door behind him.

That quick encounter of Quil and Nathan gave me a perfect sneak peek into future moments with the pack in the house.

I turned to face Embry after the sounds of the boys quieted. "So what do you want to do for the rest of this fine Thursday evening?"

"Whatever you feel like doing," Embry answered.

"Well, that most certainly narrows it down," I said, grabbing his wrist as I walked past him. "So there is a lot we can do, we can go online and screw around on there, or we could watch TV or a movie. Hmm," I thought, pulling him toward the family room. "We could play a board game if we really wanted. I would say that we could just sit and talk but we've been doing a lot of talking lately." I pulled him to a stop in front of the couch. I placed my hands on his chest to give a short push to make him fall and sit on the couch, but it was like I was trying to move a cement wall. My sock covered feet slid along the wood floor as my hands were pulled away from his chest. My hands reached out for something to grab onto, to keep me from falling – the closest thing being Embry, but just out of reach. I would have fallen if Embry hadn't grabbed onto my arms. I stood firmly back on my two feet, my hands forced back onto Embry's chest. Being so close we couldn't look anywhere but each other's faces.

His was just so… filled with emotion. For the first second I stood pressed up against his chest, his face held concern. But then the concern in his eyes changed into amusement then into something else. The only word I felt comfortably labeling the emotion was fondness, but it was clearly a step up from the weak form of love. His hold on me shifted, his left arm letting go of my hand to caress my shoulder before drifting down onto my back. My own body changed with his, my free hand slowly moving up his chest to come to a stop behind his neck. No words were exchanged because nothing needed to be said. I felt no need to tell him that things were changing and I knew he would make sure nothing happened that I couldn't handle. My right hand drifted from behind his neck to lightly touch the corner of his jaw. I was suddenly hit with the realization of Embry being handsome. I trailed my hand down his jaw then back, my hand moved up his face and into his hair. His jaw muscle twitched as I ran my hand through his short hair.

"Ashley…" Embry said, breaking our silence. I returned my hand to its original resting spot behind his neck. I could feel the deep breath he took. "So what do you want to do besides talk?"

"Be with you," I answered without thinking. "Stay with me, please. As strange as it is to admit to it, but I just feel so… normal when I'm with you. I actually feel carefree and I would never have imagined feeling this way after… after what happened with my family."

"Whatever you want Ashley, I'll be here," Embry said.

I pulled my hand down to rest against his chest. "Then sit." Embry sat on the couch, sitting in the corner. I walked over to the TV and put in an old Disney movie into the VHS player. I then walked over to the couch and sat beside Embry. Embry shifted so he could hold me against his side comfortably. It was in that moment that I made a decision, if I ever had the choice, I would always choose to be by Embry's side over anything (literally and figuratively).


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N****: So yes this did take a long time to get out. But I really need to focus on school. There are 21 days left so if you can hold out (because I don't know if I'm going to get a full chapter out until after). I'm just posting this because it has been so long. So it does end in a mid-scene place creating a bit of a cliffy, but I figured you'd take a cliffy over having another week of waiting.**

**Frou Frou – Flicks**

**Imogen Heap – Goodnight and Go**

Chapter 14

Falling asleep was a little bit easier than previous night, but I was still just as restless waking up every hour or so. Embry had stayed late, even having dinner with Leah and I, but he ended going back home. I found myself eager for the day that he would move in. Waking up that morning I tossed Jimmy's number in the trash. Jimmy was so weak in comparison to all the men I was with these days. And I would also get to meet all of them later tonight. The whole pack was coming over for dinner, with the exception of two unlucky members who would have to be on patrol. Quil told me to save something for the unlucky soles that wouldn't be able to partake in the feast that I had prepared. I lost myself in cooking, something that hadn't ever happened before. I would normally lose myself in a good book or in work, normally cooking wasn't the center of my universe, but today it was my savior. My mind was focused on not burning food, making sure there were enough plates and things for everyone and picking nice stomach filling dishes.

Leah had nearly opened the oven while I was cooking a portion of dinner after she came back from her shift. Instead I turned her toward the desserts, a less necessary item of the dinner. I had to cut her off at some point so I was forced to kick her out when I realized she was consuming two cookies per minute.

"You'll be able to have some later during dinner!" I called after Leah as she grumbled, leaving the kitchen. I rolled my eyes at her attitude, happy to be in such a light mood to be in the right mood for my response to be an eye roll. I got back to work cleaning up the mess I made. I soaked the hand towel in water and used the wet cloth to wipe-down the counter. The back door opened and I looked to my left to see that it was Quil and Embry.

"Hey boys," I called.

"Hey Mama Wolf," Quil said coming over. I suppressed the need to roll my eyes again at Quil's remark and continued cleaning. "Watcha' cooking?" Quil asked.

"Nothing that you'll be eating at the moment," I said.

"Aww, you're not even going to let me have one little bite?" Quil said.

"What you call 'one little bite' wouldn't be the same as my definition of 'one little bite'," I said, glancing over my shoulder and throwing the pouting man-child a smile. Quil groaned and left the kitchen. "Go to the family room and join Leah in the grumpy-wolf-denied-food club." I looked over at Embry. "Are you planning on joining that club, Embry?"

"No, because that would mean I couldn't stay here with you," Embry said, walking to lean against the counter I was cleaning. I smiled to myself and moved to wipe-down the island even though it wasn't dirty. "So, are you really ready for the chaos that comes with a pack party?"

"I hope for the pack's sake they aren't as bad as you make them all out to be, or else they would all be missing out on a lot of food," I said.

"Wait, you'd bait them like that?" Embry said, standing up straight in surprise. "I don't think you should do that. A hungry pack is the one time you don't want to be teasing them."

I turned around, resting my left hip against the counter to face Embry. "If any member of the pack thinks they can do anything with me and get away with it, they get what's coming to 'em. And it may not only mean no food from me."

"I'm only worried about the younger ones," Embry said.

"Then they should be worried about me," I said.

"Then I'm worried about you," Embry said.

"And I'm worried about the food!" shouted Quil.

"Be quiet, Quil!" I shouted over my shoulder. There was a groan and I turned my attention back to Embry. "Don't be, I'll be just fine."

"The fact that you'll be just fine proves the fact that you don't know what you're getting yourself into," said Embry.

VVVMVMVWWVMVMVVV

After what I had been told to expect, I thought the aftermath was fairly mild, especially considering the state of the kitchen. That wasn't to say that it wasn't a mess. I was glad that Jacob had told some of the boys to stay in the kitchen and help clean up. As I cleaned the last few plates in the sink, I gazed out the window into the backyard where there was a blazing fire and the Pack encircling it.

"Here, let me help out and do some of the dishes," Emily said stepping forward from our own circle of girl pack-friends.

"Sure," I said, thankful for her offering. "Thank you."

"Not a problem," Emily said, getting to work with the sponge. "I've sadly gotten used to the chore."

"The only time they'll clean anything up is if you force them," said Rachel with a smirk. "Usually by depriving them of something."

"Let me guess, food?" I said.

The others laughed. "Yes, that would be one of them," said Kim. "It's crazy how much they respond to a threat about food."

"It's one of my top two choices if Paul isn't doing something I want him to," said Rachel.

"What's the other option?" I questioned.

Rachel placed a hand on her right hip. "It's as simple as limiting contact, especially romantic contact."

"So, that would just be with Paul then. But what do you do when another member of the pack is terrorizing your home?" I said.

"Same thing," Rachel said.

"But it really doesn't happen often," Kim added. "The pack respects one another and a pack member's… partner. Any good friend of one pack member deserves the same respect as if they were a real part of the pack." I nodded in understanding.

"And you are a very good friend of the pack now," commented Emily from the sink.

I smiled. "I was counting on that. I love the pack – for who they are and for what they did. They all deserve it, you all do."

"And we, and I think I can speak for all the boys when I say this, appreciate it," Rachel said, turning serious. "Opening your home up for them is very generous of you. An added bonus of that is it dilutes the amount of pack members at a given pack 'house'. It means less of an opportunity of them interrupting anything."

"Oh, Rachel, really?" Kim said.

"What?" Rachel said. "It's about time the younger boys moved on somewhere else. So they could give me alone time with my man."

"It's something that just comes with the territory," Kim said. "It's almost like a package deal; you get one pack member you get all of them."

I saw that the drying rack was getting full so I walked over and began to dry them off and put them away. Emily, Rachel, Kim and I continued talking as we worked. After twenty minutes, we all grew tired and piled the remaining dishes in the sink to soak and all went outside.

"Hey, the girls are here!" Paul said, getting up and walking over to Rachel. They embraced for a short moment, pulling away after a deep kiss. We dispersed ourselves throughout the pack. I spotted an old lawn chair between Leah and Embry.

"Hey, Ashley," Embry greeted as I walked over.

"Hey, Embry," I said, taking a seat in to old chair. "Hey, Leah. Why didn't you hang with us girls inside the house?"

Leah shrugged. "I was happy out here."

"Oh, that's cool. It's not that enjoyable to be stuck cleaning up," I said. Sensing a difference in the Leah that I knew I turned my attention to Embry, rather than decipher what had caused the change in Leah.

"So how long does it usually take for a party like this to disperse?" I asked.

"Well, fifth shift is going to end soon, so Colin and Tyson will join us and Quil and Brady are going to leave for sixth," Embry said. "The younger ones will probably leave during the shift change too, but it is a Friday so they may want to stay up."

"Yeah, but I figured more of them would be able to come if it was on a Friday," I said. A slow smile crept across Embry's face. "What?" I asked, glancing around the bonfire. Embry's smile just grew even wider. "What is it Embry?"

"Nothing, Ashley," Embry murmured. I rolled my eyes, knowing how hard it could sometimes be to get Embry to tell me what he was thinking. He laughed, probably able to tell what my thoughts were. "I was just thinking that you're just being so sweet to the pack."

"You can say that again!" Shouted Quil, a distance around the circle from us.

"Go on your shift, Quil!" I yelled back over the fire.

"Says who?" He said with a grin.

"You're Mama Wolf, that's who," I said, using his new name for me against him. He stood up, his grin disappearing from his face.

"Come on Brady," Quil said, walking off towards the woods. Brady stood up from his seat to follow Quil after calling out a 'bye' to the pack. Shortly after the two left, Colin and Tyson came.

"Hey, boys!" I said getting up from my seat. I walked towards the two as they approached the bonfire. "There should be plenty of leftovers in the kitchen. I covered what was left and put it on the kitchen table just inside. You can fill up your plates and join us out here if you like." Both boys looked at each other before turning back to me.

"Thanks," said Collin, the taller of the two.

"You're really awesome," said Tyson as he passed me to go into the house.

I turned back around to see Nathan and his older brother Zach approach me.

"We're going to head back home," said Zach. "But we wanted to say thanks."

"Thank you Ashley," Nathan said. The youngest wolf surprised me by walking forward to give me a hug. It lasted for only three seconds, and in those three seconds I thought not of how cute Nathan was but of how his hug was different than Embry's. Nathan smiled at me, not a hint of shyness in his face.

"You're welcome Nate," I said. "Have a great weekend."

"You too!" said Nate before running off after his brother who had already disappeared into the woods.

I walked back to my seat next to Embry. Someone had thrown a few more logs onto the fire and the flames reached higher, consuming the fresh wood.

"He likes you," Embry commented. I looked over at him, away from the crackling flames. "They all like you."

"And I like all of them," I said. "In all honesty I will always care about them, even when they won't need me anymore – particularly the young ones." I glanced down to see that Embry was gripping firmly onto the armrest of his chair. "And what about you?"

"What about me?" questioned Embry.

The corner of my mouth pulled up into a smirk. "Do you like being with me?"

Embry was caught by surprise and hesitated for a moment. I don't know why I asked him. Did I really need to flatter myself so? But the way that he stuttered out a few words before clearing his throat had him appear even more loveable than before. "I- why wouldn't I? I mean, you're an amazing girl- er, woman." A soft giggle escaped my lips. "How could I not enjoy spending my time with you?"

"I don't know, why don't you tell me," I said.

"That was meant to be redundant," Embry said with half a smile. I giggled again and Embry's smile filled out, spreading across his face. "You like answering redundant questions, don't you?"

"Yes. When people include questions in their answers it sometimes means that they don't know the full answer themselves, and how to express it in words," I said. "When I actually answer their question in some way it forces them to think about it and put their answer into actual words."

"So, in other words, you like to get people thinking," Embry said.

"I guess so," I said.

"Hey, Ashley." I turned around to see Ryan and Wyatt standing behind me.

"Yes?" I said.

"Were heading out now but we wanted to tell you thanks," said Wyatt. Ryan nodded his head in agreement.

"You're welcome boys," I said. They both walked off into the woods, Ryan shoving Wyatt before running into the treeline.

"See," Embry said, bringing my attention back to our conversation. "They all do like you."

I glanced back into the woods. "They're all so cute," I said. "It's so strange to see the words of a little kid come out of a teenager's body, but that only takes a little bit away from the cuteness." I sighed and sat back into my chair. Facing the fire, I looked beyond it to see Sam, Emily, Paul and Rachel as they sat on a log. Both girls were wrapped in their partner's arms. The embrace would normally look harmless, but in this moment it seemed completely different, like something was there that I couldn't see that made that one little embrace so special. I glanced sidelong at Embry to see that he was watching me. Ever since that day he found me in my house I've compared not only hugs but light gestures to the ones I receive from Embry. Suddenly I was hit with the question of how he found me. I hadn't questioned it in the moment or any following time, until now, because in that time he had pulled me out of myself and back into the real world. He helped take care of me and was there when I needed him and feeling sad. Now, I wondered how Embry had known. I know I had left a note at Kim's house so they would all know where I had left to, so they wouldn't be worried about me running off and hurting myself in some way. Embry could have found out about the note and come to the house, but that seemed highly unlikely. We weren't really friends yet… So how could he possibly have known? Sure he could have known where I live, a downfall to living in a small town. But how could he have not only known where I was but why had he even looked for me? Not that I wasn't thankful for him showing up, I probably would have drowned in my own tears. I couldn't help my thoughts from lingering on this little fact that began the relationship I had with Embry. I shifted in my seat beginning to grow uncomfortable. Should I question him about this? Was there an explanation for the reason why, whenever I was feeling hurt of just wanted to be with somebody, I wanted him to be there to comfort me and not my Mother or Father. I felt intense shame at this admittance. Why was Embry suddenly ranked number one in my book? How could he possibly beat out my love and sorrow for my dead family. I crossed my arms over my chest, the intense anger and disgrace I felt for still not mourning my family. Instead I cheat on them by being happy so soon after their passing by spending my time with Embry. I began looking forward to school, that would get me away from this town and Embry.

"Ashley, are you OK?" Embry asked, breaking me out of my thoughts.

"Hmm?" I looked over at Embry in surprise.

"Is everything alright?" he asked. "Do you want to go inside?"

I glanced around the fire to see that some people had left while I had been caught up in my thoughts. Sam, Emily, Paul, Rachel and Hunter had left leaving a grand total of ten, including me, still sitting around the bonfire.

"Its fine," I said, "I'm fine." Embry looked down at me skeptically, easily seeing through my lie, I sighed and looked away. He didn't need to know what I was thinking, as crazy as it was I could trust him… or at least I thought I could. But I stupidly felt guilty about thinking ill of Embry. _Oh why did I have to put myself in these situations?_ I just needed… _what _did _I need?_

"Do you want to go inside?" Embry asked. I nodded and stood up from my seat. Embry silently stood as well and I didn't protest when he followed me into the house, one of his arms lightly wrapped around my shoulder. It felt like I was the ultimate magnet for cathch-22s. Walking into the house I led the way past the kitchen and into the family room.

"Embry," I said my annoyance and frustration translating into a gruff tone. "You have, in fact, told me everything you know?" Embry seemed surprised by my unexpected question.

"Yes I have."

I turned away and sat on the couch. There had been a second of hesitation in his answer that led me to believe he was lying to me. I couldn't face that, the deception – any sort of deception. I was already screwed up as it was, I did not need to be worrying about Embry and all the problems that he brought up.

"Ashley." He took a step toward the couch where I was seated and I raised up my hand, palm facing out. Embry stopped. "Don't think I lied to you. I answered all of your questions."

"Then you must have overlooked something," I snapped, "because I feel an overwhelming sense that I'm missing something. I must have forgotten to question you about your sudden ability to show up everywhere in my life in a matter of weeks of knowing you. How everything you do doesn't need any sort of excuse – it just is!" Embry seemed to grow more nervous. I stood up from my seat and moved to stand in front of him. "Please," I said, gripping the front of his shirt. "Don't lie to me. I really don't think I could handle that."

Embry grasped my hands and pried them off. I was surprised by the tight grip I had, a subliminal sign of my stress.

"Let's sit back down," Embry said. I sat back down on the couch and Embry followed. "The reason why I didn't tell you anything was because I knew you'd freak out and stress."

"Too bad you didn't figure I would freak out either way," I said.

Embry shifted in his seat. "I'm sorry for that. At the time it-it didn't seem smart to tell you at the time… right after your family died."

My body lost some of its tension at his words. "Oh." I was thinking so badly of Embry when _he_ was just thinking about my well-being. "Oh."

"It's just that you are going through a lot," Embry added. "You have gotten better since when you first came back, but you can't hide all of your feelings like I know you would want."

"But that's just it," I said leaning forward. "Why do I feel so connected to you? Why is it that I feel perfectly – perfectly fine with you – being with you? It feels so normal. Sure I knew of you before all this but honestly, I've really only known you for nearly two weeks!"

Embry sighed, only releasing some of the nervous tension in him. "I was surprised – we were all surprised you took us being shape shifting wolves so well. That information is a lot of baggage because it is such a big secret. When you're left with a secret sometimes you over analyze and overthink it. I didn't tell you what I am going to tell you because it holds the same amount of weight. It explains a lot, but with knowing it, it brings up a lot of questions."

"So what is it?"


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Sorry, guys! With no official set schedule I'm losing track of the days, I only just realized it is Thursday. So now I present the newest chapter of Ashley:**

Chapter 15

"It's something called imprinting," Embry began. "A wolf can have an imprint. So far there are a lot of imprints, making it seem more common than originally thought. The best way to start off is to point out who the imprints are. There is Emily, Kim, Rachel, a girl named Claire who you haven't met yet, and you."

"Me?" I asked. "How am I an imprint?"

"A pack member imprints on a person. Their age doesn't matter, the wolf just has to make eye contact after they first phase and then the wolf imprints on that person. It's not chosen to happen by us. It seems to be completely random sometimes, but it may have something to do with genes. Imprint is a term we use for the person a pack member imprints on, but imprinting is also a process. When the wolf sees that person that is meant to be theirs, they feel instantly drawn to them. A connection is made between the two, the person may not even know it, but the wolf is highly aware of it. Imprinting speeds up the process of the years and years it could take to get to know someone and eventually… be with them. That's why you feel so comfortable. The imprint bond kind of blocks out any doubts, not because it is forced," Embry said sitting up straight, "but because you really can trust your imprint. There is no need for any doubts, or any sense of insecurity because an imprint is always there for you and they are someone that you can trust and lean on whenever you want – because they will always be there for you, no matter what."

"…So what you're saying… Is that I... I'm an imprint… to somebody in the pack," I said and Embry nodded. "And that somebody is you." Embry nodded again. "I'm you're imprint?"

"I know it is strange bu-" I reached over and covered his mouth with my hand. He couldn't be able to speak and change the course of where my thoughts were taking me. I ran over the past two weeks in my head, using this piece of information to answer all the questions that had come up regarding Embry and some members of the pack. I looked over, my eyes connecting with his. I could tell that he wanted to talk, to know what I was thinking, especially pertaining to him now that he thought- or knew that we were meant to be together. His eyes bore into mine and I removed my hand, lowering it to rest on the side of his neck. I swiftly moved forward, rising up onto my knees to reach across the distance between us to kiss him. It was short, but enough to elicit a reaction from him. His right hand came up to touch my side, steadying me. I pulled away and searched his face. His expression was the same as any of the other imprinters to Emily, Kim, and Rachel. Should I be scared by this knew factor? Maybe, but how could I be when Embry was there with me, whether he liked it or not. Should I kick him out for not telling me this? No, he was actually really smart for not telling me. I was on his side for withholding this little piece of information, knowing it could have very well thrown me over the edge. I did wonder how long he had planned on keeping it a secret though. Embry leaned forward and recaptured my lips. For a second I gave into my urges, pushing him back onto the couch as I kissed him. But then I quickly pulled away. "No." His hands drifted down to my hips, his face not looking disappointed one bit, like I had expected. Instead, it looked like he was still reveling in our kiss. "I just needed to see something." I dropped my left leg to the floor, and stood, pulling myself off of Embry.

"What?" Embry said the stunned-ness I had expected beginning to emerge. "You can't just do that," he protested.

"Is it some sort of rule?" I questioned, running a hand down my shirt, feeling the need to straighten it out.

"No…," Embry said still coming back to the real world. "But what you just did was like, dangling a bone in front a dog and faking him out." I smirked. "OK, that may have been too good of a simile, but a very good example considering…"

"OK, I promise not to dangle any sort of 'bone' and then withhold it," I said, crossing my arms over my chest. Something inside me stirred and I got the sense that what Embry was feeling about ten times of what I was feeling. And the only thing my gut feeling was conjuring up was images of me stepping forward, straddling him, and pulling off his shirt as we made out on the couch, killing time together late into the night. I couldn't imagine what he was thinking… er… A blush crept over me as I mentally put myself in his shoes. I guess what I did was pretty bad. "But if I don't withhold…"

Embry looked at me surprised. "Then you do whatever you want. I would just - appreciate it - if you were not to tease me."

I hesitated a step, actually torn with the decision of staying with Embry or going back out to join the others. Now, spending time with Embry (by any means) was a legitimate way to pass time and a real way to spend my time. Embry sighed and rubbed his hands over the tops of his legs.

"It's going to get harder isn't it?" I questioned.

"Hm?" Embry said, looking up at me.

"Not harder – but difficult _not_ to spend any time together. The more we get closer the harder it is going to be apart," I said.

"Yes," Embry said.

I stayed silent for a moment. Neither one of us moving from our places, trying to calm back down. "Then it's good that you're moving in then." I turned and walked out of the family room and down the hallway. I heard Embry get up and run down the hall as I opened up the back door.

"Seriously?" Embry asked his eyes, filled with hope and surprise.

"Serious," I said. "But for now, we're going to have to… take it slow. I've still got school," I said.

Embry nodded and followed me out into the backyard. Some of the people still sitting around the fire turned around to see me and Embry. Each had a different sort of reaction, able to clearly read the change in our body language. I could admit that I also seemed to… _feel _a difference between us. I was fully aware of him right now, like I felt the need to move along with him and reciprocate any movements.

"I have to say that Quil would probably do something really inappropriate right now if he were here," Leah said. "Like hug you."

I noticed Finn and Tyson put their heads together, parting with a high-five. Kim got up from her seat shared with Jared. She hurriedly walked over to me.

"He told you?" Kim asked, hands clasped in front of her and looking hopeful.

"If you mean he told me about imprints then-" Kim threw her hands up and let out a shout, cutting me off.

"Welcome to the Imprint Club!" Kim said, she stepped forward and gave me a short hug. I resisted in the first moment, but then reciprocated the hug, winding my arms around her. "Oh, the boys are the best, Ash. You totally deserve it." Kim pulled back and smiled at me. She glanced over at Embry, her face turning serious. "But you need to show that you deserve her."

Embry rolled his eyes and took my hand, pulling me away. The fire had died down in height and was nearly the size of a normal campfire.

Jacob stood up from his seat. "I think we're going to call it a night," Jacob said as he walked over and clapped Embry on the shoulder then looked down to me. "We all appreciate it."

"You're all welcome any time," I said.

"You won't be saying that for long," Jared said. "See ya' later, Ashley." Jared walked off to the front of the house with Kim under one of his arms. The rest of the pack left via the woods. Leah, Embry and I were the only ones left in the backyard.

"Want me to put the fire out?" Leah asked.

"No," I said. "I think I'm just gonna stay out here." Leah looked from me to Embry before going into the house. I looked over my shoulder to confirm what I felt, Embry still standing at my side. "You can go in if you want Em."

"I'd rather stay out here," said Embry.

I stepped closer to him and wound my arm around his lower back. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" asked Embry.

"I shouldn't have done that considering I'm going away to school Tuesday."

"It's not like you knew," said Embry, wrapping his left arm around me.

"I still feel like I should say sorry," I said. "I'll be back on Friday if you want me to."

"I'd really appreciate it if you did. And you'll probably want to yourself. As the bond gets stronger, you'll start to feel the effects more. One example would be the separation."

"How bad is it?" I asked concerned how it would affect Embry.

"I don't really know," he said. "Last time, we were just sort of friends. Now, we're actually… something. So it'll be worse than then, but I don't know how much worse."

"Well, I could come back Thursday night," I said, looking over at Embry. "Maybe you could come over then and sleep over. Every Thursday when I come back you'll be here waiting for me. You won't have to wait for my call or anything."

"That sounds good," Embry said. "Really good."

"You might want to start thinking about what color you want to paint your room," I said with a smile. "I'm sure you won't love the pink like my sisters had."

"We could do it the Friday you get back," Embry suggested.

"That sounds good," I said. "Make sure you talk to Quill about it. We'll go out to the store and get some paint. We could make a whole day out of it – we could order in some dinner."

Embry smiled down at me. "That sounds great."

Embry and I stayed outside and talked for a while longer, until the fire died down to the burning logs. It was probably really late, and for once I considered if he would get into any sort of trouble for being out so late. Embry dumped two buckets of water on the fire, which were left out to naturally fill with rain water. We hugged goodbye before we separated ways. Being so close to Embry and that blazing fire, I still felt a warm feeling inside of me and I had a spark of hope that I would for once be able to sleep through the night.

VVVMVMVWWVMVMVVV

My eyes lazily opened up and I was startled by my alarm ringing. I sat up in bed and rubbed my eyes, the alarm still sounding.

"Whaa?" I dropped my fists into my lap and glanced at the alarm clock. 9:01. "Wait." It took me a second to realize I'd slept through the whole night. I threw both hands into the air and laughed, the full nights sleep giving me plenty of energy. I easily hopped out of bed and went downstairs. I could hear a slight murmur of talk coming from the kitchen. Easily drawing a conclusion as to why I had slept so well, I hoped that Embry was one of the people talking in the kitchen. Pausing in the archway to the kitchen I saw Leah, Embry, Quil, Nathan, Seth and Brady. I ran over to Embry who was standing by the table and surprised him with a hug.

He laughed in surprise. "Good morning, Ashley."

"Good morning, Embry," I said, pulling away slightly to smile at him. "Thank you."

"For what?" Embry asked, still keeping his arms around me. I could more easily feel his warmth through my thin nightgown and instantly felt more intimate with him. I leaned forward and placed a kiss on his cheek.

"For an awesome night," I said. I let go of him, sliding out of his arms.

"What did you do to her?" Leah asked Embry. "She's looking awfully happy this morning."

"Nothing, I just told her about imprinting," Embry said. "And who ever said she wasn't happy?"

Leah lowered her voice and I couldn't hear her answer Embry as I prepared myself some breakfast.

"So what do you plan on doing today?" asked Nathan. "Another cookout?"

I laughed. "That requires some pre-planning, Nate. And with all the food that I need to make, it is going to be a while until the next one."

"Aww." I smiled to myself, knowing it wasn't just Nathan who was disappointed in hearing this information.

"Why don't you pick the date of the next one?" I said, trying to cheer the boy up.

"Next weekend!" yelled Nathan.

"What did I just say, Nate?" I said with a chuckle.

"Aww… the weekend after next weekend?" Nate asked.

"Sure," I said, turning to face them with a bowl of cereal in my hands.

There was a resounding yes from the two youngest boys, both high-fiving. Embry walked over to me and wrapped an arm around my waist as I ate my bowl of cereal standing. I felt comfortable with Embry, so comfortable that I stayed standing at his side even after I was done eating. Nathan and Brady eventually left for home, both saying goodbye before leaving through the back door. I placed my bowl on the counter so I could wrap an arm around Embry. I just felt complete with him at my side. Eventually the talk between the five of us slowed down and petered out. Seth and Quil left then, leaving only Leah, Embry and I.

"Well, I'll leave you two lovebirds alone," Leah said getting up.

"Leah," I said in protest. She waved my remark off and left the kitchen.

I sighed and parted from Embry's side to clean my dishes. While I was at the sink cleaning my dishes, a pair of arms wrapped around my waist. I giggled and squirmed at the suddenness of the action.

"Hey, Embry," I said. "What's up with all this?"

"I just couldn't resist," Embry said. He moved to whisper into my left ear. "You look really nice in your pj's." A hand drifted down to rest on my hip, then further down. I reached a hand down to place it rightfully on my hip while I felt my body flush.

"Maybe you should practice resisting considering I'm going back to school this week," I said, continuing to wash.

"Don't remind me," Embry said, his sigh of frustration tickling my ear. I smiled and placed my clean bowl at the bottom of the sink. I turned around in Embry's arms to face him, my hands coming to rest lightly on his shoulders.

"I'll be leaving Tuesday morning at nine, and I'll be back around eight on Thursday. That leaves you with over forty-eight hours without me," I said. "I think you should be able to make it, because the week after _that_ I'll be leaving Sunday and not coming back until Thursday."

"What?" said Embry, his voice pitching higher due to surprise. His face looked so pained; I couldn't help but lean forward and give him a small kiss. When I pulled away, one of his hands drifted up my side to cup my neck. He leaned forward to recapture my lips and I didn't protest. His warmth engulfed me and I just basked in it.

"Please don't go," Embry mumbled.

I ran a light hand over his shoulders which were tense in anticipation of my leaving. "I have to." Embry kissed me more fiercely then, trying to convince me to stay to be with him. I could feel the fight in him as he pulled away. He knew just right where my boundaries lay and knew when he was beginning to step over the line. Sure I've recently thought of being intimate with Embry, but I was going to start out slow. If things seemed fine, then I'd think of letting Embry get closer. When we parted, I looked into Embry's eyes to see a mirror image of what I was feeling in his eyes. Our little parting was mutual, knowing it wouldn't be the last time we did so until I left.

Leah left for work a little before eleven, leaving Embry and I alone.

Embry stared down the hall, after Leah who shut the front door without slamming it. I glanced over at Embry guessing what he was thinking.

"No," I said.

"Why not? We're all alone in your house," said Embry. "We have plenty of reasons _to_ do it for once."

"Do it?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow. "I don't think-"

"That wasn't what I meant," he said. "We're not ready for that. If we did, it would be nearly impossible to let you go to school."

"Oh, I know what we can do so we don't _do anything_," I said, getting up from the couch. "Stay right here." I ran up the stairs, feeling Embry's eyes on me as I went. I came back downstairs with my laptop in my arms. I sat back down on the couch and smiled over at Embry. "I can try and do some schoolwork."

Embry rolled his eyes. "That's the best you got? Now you're just turning it into a game for me: let's see how long it takes to get Ashley to give in."

"Come on, you can go do whatever you want, but instead you choose to be with me," I said. "Right now I am choosing to catch up with schoolwork. So I'd appreciate it if you didn't deliberately try and distract me."

"Oh, you'd appreciate it?"

"Yes," I said with a smile. I opened up my laptop and started to work. I sat against the armrest at one end while my legs rested on top of Embry. After spending so much time with Embry and being exceptionally warm, I'd decided to just wear shorts and a t-shirt when I was getting dressed out of my nightgown. Only a few minutes had passed when Embry began to run his hands lightly along my legs. It was only vaguely distracting at first.

"I'm going to miss you soo much Ashley," Embry said out of nowhere. I looked up to Embry to see that he was back to being sad again, his eyes slowly drifting up from my legs to my face. Then he groaned and rested his head against the back of the couch, his hands still lightly massaging my legs. "God I sound like such a girl."

I laughed out loud. "Embry if you were any more masculine, you'd just be a penis." Embry laughed and smiled at me. He realized that I was joking around to make him feel better and his smile softened as his head rolled to look over at me. I gave him a small smile before going back to my work. I got one full assignment done before Embry's hands had my full attention. Giving up on schoolwork, I shut my laptop and placed it on the ground. I shifted to sit next to Embry. Sad Embry was back, despite my best efforts. I pulled my legs off of his lap and away from his hands. I grabbed hold of his hands and pinned them to the couch. I sat straddling his legs.

"Embry, if you keep thinking about me gone, it'll be like I'm gone longer," I said. "It's not like I'm going to die."

"Ashley!" Embry said, not happy with my choice of words and the image they probably put in his mind. I bent down and lightly kissed him.

"But's it's true," I say. He sighed and dropped his head to rest against the back of the couch. I let go of one of his hands to free one of my own to reach forward and run my hand through his hair. I gripped onto his hair and lifted his head to look me in the eye. "You're gonna get through this Em, I promise. It's only a little over a month, then we'll have all summer." I let go and his head dropped back down. Frustrated I leaned forward and lightly kissed his lips. I felt him shift under me. He pulled his hands easily away from the couch, but conceded when I tried harder to hold them down. I softly kissed him before pulling away from him. His breathing changed, becoming irregular and tried compensate by taking deep breaths to calm himself. My lips turned upwards in a smile. I let go of his arms to frame his face with my hands. His own hands found their way to my hips. I shifted slightly as I began to grow uncomfortable. His hands dropped to his sides.

"You want it slow," Embry said.

I shook my head. "No, it's just that I feel…" I flexed my hand as it rested on Embry's shoulder, trying to come up with a good word. "… different. It's just that normally I wouldn't ever feel this way for a guy until we were together for-"

"-It's the imprint," Embry interrupted. "One simple way to make it stronger is for you to know it is there. Then you kissed me the other night, something we could have done a few days ago, but the closer we begin to get the closer we're going to want to be."

"And I still have to go to school," I sighed, looking down regretting that this moment was going to have to end. "We shouldn't make this harder for you."

"Like you said-" Embry leaned forward and gave me a light kiss "-I'll survive."

I giggled, now feeling buoyant. "You're just saying that because you want this and not me doing my work."

VVVMVMVWWVMVMVVV

Halfway through my first day of classes and I knew what I missed the most at home was Embry. I couldn't imagine what he was feeling right now. Not just because I couldn't formulate it, but because what I felt at the loss of Embry's presence felt bad enough. I ate lunch in my room alone, taking away all of any possible distractions so I could focus on my schoolwork. Or better put all distractions but Embry as I went through my papers. The end of the year was slowly dragging on and there were a number of tests that I had to take in the upcoming week where I had only read about held of the material I was to be tested on. I had a bit of a struggle focusing my attention on my readings. Eventually I just flipped to the end of the chapter to read the two page summary, planning on reading it all when I got back home, while Embry hopefully would be massaging my legs… I shook my head and focused on finishing the review section

I crumpled up my trash and threw it in the bin. I stood up from my desk. Falling down onto my bed I snuggled into my sheets. I reached an arm up to hook onto my pillow and bring it to my chest. I couldn't wait for the summer.

After completing my last "reading" section it was finally late enough for Embry to be out of school. I pulled out my cellphone and called him. It rang only twice. 

"Ashley," Embry said sounding relieved.

"Hi Embry," I said, a bit of tension unraveling in me. "I'm leaving tomorrow night right after my last class."

"Good… How are you?"

"I'm doing alright… I'm really missing you though," I said, feeling a bit shy as I spoke.

"I miss you too," said Embry. "Can't wait to see you. I'm _really_ looking forward to summer now."

"46 more days until we can do whatever we want, whenever we want."

"That sounds great, if it didn't take so long."

"Just keep telling yourself one more day until I see my wonderful Ashley, until complete freedom."

"Complete freedom…" Embry repeated.

"Yes, complete freedom," I said.

"What time are you coming tomorrow?"

"Right around eight o'clock," I answered.

"Can't wait to see you my wonderful Ashley."

I laughed, knowing he wouldn't be able to see the smile that had spread over my face. "Can't wait to see you Embry. So did you talk to Quil?"

"Yeah, he said he was cool with whatever I picked out. 'Cuz honestly, anything would be better than that pink."

"Good. You'll come home right after school?" I said.

"Yeah," Embry said, there was a pause before he continued. "Promise me something Ash?"

"Yeah," I said, my smile widening at the use of my nick-name.

"Feel free to call me – anytime." Embry stressed the last word. "Because I always will want to hear your voice."

I couldn't help my girly sigh. "Awww, Em! That's so sweet. And you feel free to call me anytime. I'll always pick up, unless I'm in class or in the shower."

"Well that visual really helped with the missing you part."

"_Embry_," I scolded. "I'm not really…" my voice faded off.

"Ashley, I'm ready whenever you are," said Embry sensing what I was getting at. "You set the pace at how you want to go."

"But what if I- what if I _go _too fast? The imprint pushes me to be with you, but what if I'm not really ready for this after what happened? I don't – I couldn't ever handle losing someone else I care about, especially you."

"Don't worry about me, Ashley. You worry about getting through school right now, OK?" Embry assured. "I'm going to be fine, and you're coming back home tomorrow."

I sighed into the phone. "Alright, see you then. I'll give you a call before I leave for La Push."

"OK," Embry said. "See you tomorrow."

"Bye, Em," I said before hanging up. It seemed like that phone-call didn't help a whole lot as I had hoped.

I went to bed early, hoping it would compensate for my restlessness.

VVVMVMVWWVMVMVVV

I impatiently began to bounce my left leg up and down. I glanced at the clock for the tenth time in the last five minutes. I had never felt the want of a class to end as badly as I did now. My friend Nina looked over at me, her pulled together eyebrows and curious eyes silently conveyed: _what's up with you? Are you OK? You're rarely eve like this._

My eyes came to rest on my notes as I planted my foot firmly to the ground. A few minutes later I regressed back and Nina shot me another look. My leg continued through the rest of the class as I tried to note down what I thought what were the main ideas of his lecture. We all filed out of the classroom and Nina caught up with my long stride.

"What's been up with you girl?" Nina asked. "You've been acting really different since you got back." Nina and I shared the same major and had a lot of our classes together. I also hadn't yet told her what happened. For one, because if I just withheld it, then I wouldn't have to lie to her. Secondly I didn't want her to take pity on me.

"I…," I paused in the middle of the sidewalk. "On my way back to my hometown, at the start of spring break, my family got… in an accident. I was the only one to make it." And that would be all she would ever know.

Her mouth dropped open in surprise, she tried to say something but nothing came out. I walked off, not only because I had heard the whole 'I'm sorry for your loss' crap enough times but because I was anxious to get to my car and start the drive back home. I could hear Nina's hurried steps as she ran to catch up with me.

"Ashley, I'm so sorry," Nina said. "If you need anything just ask."

"We're going to study together when I get back on Sunday," I said.

"You're leaving?"

"I'm going back home for the weekend," I said.

"But you never… Oh, well. Call me when you get back about where you want to get together, Ashley," Nina said, turning away towards the building with her next class and the cafeteria.

I had already packed my car before class, so all I needed to do was get in it, fill the tank up then be on my way. I unlocked the car and threw my book-bag in the back seat. I pulled my cellphone out of my pocket and called Embry. With the phone wedged between my shoulder and ear, I started up my car then buckled the seatbelt.

"Hey, Em I'm leaving right now so if I leave right now I should be home a quarter to eight," I said before he could answer.

"Who is this?" Instead of Embry, a woman's voice came in from the other end of the call.

"Uhh, I'm sorry if I – misdialed, but is this Embry's phone?" I knew I hadn't, but whoever had picked up clearly didn't like the way I had said 'hello'.

"Yes, this is my son's phone," the woman said. "Who is this?"

_Oh, shit_, I thought. I knew Embry hadn't told his Mom about being a shapeshfiting wolf so he sure didn't tell her about having an imprint, making us practically engaged.

"Ashley Conweller," I said.

"Well, Ashley, as far as I'm aware my son is hardly ever home," said Embry's mom. "So how could you possibly plan on seeing him here?'

"Uhh, well you see…" This woman was clearly in a bad mood, and I had a good guess that if I didn't answer right I would end up on her shit-list. "I'll just call back later." I hung up the phone and then called my house.

"Hello," said Leah.

"Hey, Leah, can you tell Embry that he left his cellphone at his house and that I had a nice chat with his Mom?" I said, scanning around the car before pulling out of the parking spot.

"You talked with his Mom?" Leah asked in surprise.

"Yeah, I think I did. I also kind of told her my name so now I'm scared she's going to come over and find Embry there," I said.

"Well, if she does come over she'll only find me. Embry's on patrol right now."

"Patrol?" I asked surprised, stopping the car a second longer than necessary at a stop-sign . "He doesn't have Fifth on Thursdays this month. Why is he on patrol?"

"He's just working off some steam by running some patrols. It's part of the whole you're-gone thing," Leah said.

"Oh, well… I should be home a quarter to eight, alright?" I said as I turned the car onto the highway.

"Alright, see ya then Ashley," Leah said hanging up. I placed my phone in one of the cup holders and drove off, speeding slightly due to my growing excitement because I was finally on my way back to Embry.


	16. Chapter 16

**AN: Okay, no more promises. From now on summer is Hiatus Time for all of my stories. It depends what kind of job I'll get next summer. I will tell you all one thing** **do not apply to be a ride operator at Six Flags New England! **** Try to be a flash pass person or a locker attendant; they get paid way better than the me that got stuck operating two different rides.**

Chapter 16

I could hardly contain myself as I turned onto my street. In a small part of my mind, I knew it was irrational to think so highly of Embry so soon, but currently my mind was absorbed with getting to see him again. I grinned when I saw that Embry was waiting outside the front door. I pulled into the driveway and jerked the car into park, getting out of the car as quickly as possible. I felt so much better just seeing Embry's grinning face. In my lightened mood I ran over to Embry. With nothing better to do I threw myself at him, wrapping my arms around him in a strong hug. His arms seemed to automatically open for me, timed perfectly. He hugged me back and lowered his head into my shoulder. We stayed in our embrace far longer than normal, but I was just so happy to see him that it didn't matter.

"I missed you," I said into Embry's ear.

His arms tightened around me. "I missed you too, Ashley." My body seemed to finally relax at the sound of his voice and because I was finally where I was supposed to be, right in Embry's arms. I smiled as I was in my little piece of heaven. My legs finally got the feeling of what it was like to stand as we both pulled away from the hug. Embry bent his head, leaning down the small distance between us to give me a kiss.

"Missed you," Embry whispered, clearly on his own little slice of cloud 9.

I smiled at him. Everything strangely felt right in the world now that I was here with Embry. My gaze drifted away from Embry and over to the front door. In one of the glass panes I could distinguish two faces in the frosted glass and I knew neither of them were Leah. I turned away from Embry to grasp the door handle and pull open the front door to reveal Quil and Nathan. _Looks like I've officially adopted Nate as my own pack-pup_, I thought.

"You're back!" Nathan said. "Thank God, 'cuz Em was driving us crazy!"

I smiled up at Embry to see him narrowing his gaze accusingly at Nathan. "I wasn't that bad," Embry protested as we walked inside the house.

I had the urge to give a little 'aww' at how cute he was being but refrained from doing so knowing he would be embarrassed by the action.

"So, you coming home every weekend?" Nathan said trailing behind Embry, Quil and I.

"That's the plan," I said, not turning my head toward him knowing he could hear me with his super-hearing.

"Sweet," Nathan said, stepping around Quil to stand at my right shoulder.

"Down boy," Quil said. I glanced over my shoulder to see Nathan frown as he looked over at Quil. I reached back and laid an arm around his shoulders – which were at the perfect height for an armrest; the tops of his shoulders meeting right where mine ended. I walked us into the kitchen and the others followed.

"Hey now," Quill cautioned, "don't encourage him."

o\/\/\/o

I had my fun bonding with my own little pup. I was vaguely aware of Embry's slight jealousy at all the attention Nate was getting. But I figured Embry and I would have plenty of time to talk and discuss things. After sending Nate out the door, it was instantly quieter.

"Finally," Leah groaned loudly from her spot on the loveseat. "Remind me again why you want all the pups around?"

My eyes rolled skyward at Leah's repeated complaint. "They're cute, Leah. They are always so full of energy, I like having them over."

"Well, I'd like to have some sort of warning before they come over," Leah said.

"It's not like I know whose going to come over, Leah," I said. "I've opened my doors to the whole pack; it'll be hard to revoke that."

"But you can do it," Leah said.

"Leah, would you just stop complaining?" Quil said.

"You know, I have full rights to throw you out of this house because you don't live here yet," Leah said with a small grin.

A visible amount of confidence was lost in Quil. "Oh yeah?" Quill shifted slightly in his chair. "Well, I'll be living here in less than three months."

"Until that day comes, you still live at home with your parents," Leah said standing up.

Quil quickly got up. "Now Leah… before you do anything remember to actually think before-" Quil ran out of the house before he finished his sentence. Leah was hot on his tail as he left. I laughed at the sight, but at the same time thought that they would hopefully get along better because they were soon going to be housemates and I didn't need to deal with any fighting at the house.

I didn't need any damages to the house just because some wolves couldn't hold their temper. I trusted them as fighters and protectors so I expected that if they did have any sort of problem that they would get themselves outside to the backyard before anyone started to phase. They could take all their anger out in the backyard, but not inside my house.

I sighed when I realized there was nothing left to do. "I guess I should work on a bit of homework."

"You just got back," Embry said.

"Well it's not exactly time for bed yet," I said. I felt much better being back home and seeing Embry. Without a word from me, Embry followed me upstairs to my room.

Embry closed the door behind him and then looked around to see the changes I had made to the room. I walked over to my desk and sat down. I pulled a few binders out of my book-bag.

"So how is school?" Embry asked. I glanced over my shoulder to see that Embry had sat on my bed.

"Take a wild guess," I said in a sarcastic tone. Embry's face matched the way I felt about the separation. "I couldn't imagine what you are going through when I'm gone. I could barely concentrate on my schoolwork and classes." Just remembering the feeling I got up and sat next to Embry. He easily wrapped his left arm around me.

"Forty-seven more days," Embry said. He turned his head and placed a kiss above my temple. I wrapped my right arm around him in an attempt at comfort. The timing of our relationship wasn't great, but it would have been a lot harder if it had been earlier in the school year. So thankfully there was forty-seven days until summer time. Maybe then, when I don't have some magical force telling me I need to be closer to Embry, I'll be able to fully understand and sort out my feelings for Embry. For now things were only a step above mutual and I didn't need anything more than a good friend, who I needed to be close to (the side-effect that I was most annoyed about – not only because of the strain it put on me, but also because of what it did to Embry). I could see that he was holding back, that he wanted more from me and more of an "us" kind of relationship. The thing that was going to throw me off the most was that his line was farther off than my own. That line, the one that says you are going too fast and should slow down. Or the one that says, "that comment was way too much too soon, thus inappropriate." Sometimes knowing where someone else's line helps you from crossing your own line.

I looked over at Embry. "But for now I'm right here…" I said. Embry turned to look at me as I spoke. "…With you." I leaned forward slightly and kissed him.

"You're right… You're always right," Embry said between kisses.

The next time he pulled away I reached my left hand behind his head to pull him back. I was into the moment and everything felt right, so I didn't want it to end. Everything felt right with Embry, so much so I may have lost sight of the semblance of a line that I currently had. Pulling away for a breath, I licked my lips, savoring the taste of Embry. My little pause was too long for Embry, for he had moved on from my lips and moved on down past my jaw. My hand that was behind his head fisted together.

The time seemed to pass slowly. I wouldn't be able to guess how many minutes had actually passed as we kissed. The moment we stopped I knew it was the right amount and hadn't passed over my comfortable line.

"I'll come over right after school tomorrow," Embry said.

I nodded my head. "And on Saturday we can spend all day together."

Embry made a sound of agreement as he kissed me. "Looking forward to that." He kissed me once more.

I placed a hand on his chest. "That's enough for tonight Em." He glanced down at my hand and looked up into my eyes and saw that I was comfortable with what we had done but not anything more.

"Alright," Embry said. "Get back to your school-work."

I smiled, happy that Embry was being so good about my need for sensitivity on the physical part of our relationship. Embry lay out on my bed as I easily completed a fraction of my stack of school-work.

o\/\/\/o

I tried to get as much school-work done while Embry was in school. I wanted to get it out of the way so I could spend as much time as possible with Embry. I was aware that he would have school-work of his own to do, but I wanted to be available for the whole weekend so he could come over and hang-out whenever he wanted.

Just as I finished off my third to last assignment I heard the front door shut. I got up from the couch and ran into the hallway to see Embry. I slowed to a stop in front of him. He leaned forward and gave me a light kiss on the lips.

"I'm so ready for today," Embry said.

I took a few steps forward and pulled my keys off the hook hanging by the front door.

"Let's go then," I said.

o\/\/\/o

Once at the hardware store I picked up one of the baskets and walked beside Embry to the left end of the store.

"So when do you think you'll move in?" I ask, pulling a plastic tarp off a shelf. I drop it into the black plastic basket and look up to see a troubled look on Embry's face. "Something wrong?" I stop walking and Embry stops with me.

"It's just my Mom… I don't know if I've mentioned this before but lately we've been- butting heads, my mother and I," Embry said.

I nodded. "She doesn't know."

"Yes. I started to avoid home so I wouldn't have to deal with her. She was always constantly angry at me because I'd have to sneak out at night to do my job. But now since I've been avoiding her she got even worse to deal with." Embry stepped forward to grab a roller. "I mean I love my Mom, but I have no idea how to get things back to how they used to be. I really don't want to leave on a bad note, but that seems to be the only way."

I took the roller from his hand and placed it in the basket. "As long as you try to fix it there isn't much else you can do." I grabbed another roller and placed it in with the other. "You're also not the only one who has to work to get your relationship back." I took his hand and led him down the aisle to where I saw the paint was. "It most certainly isn't going to be a one sided effort, your Mom will have to try to work on it too. If things don't work out perfectly on your first shot don't be blaming yourself. She has to want to get things back to what it once was too. She may have some walls up and your chances would be a lot better if she wasn't all… angry at you." We stopped to stand in front of the paint. "I feel like there may be some primer down in the basement with the brushes, but I don't know how much."

"I'll just get the 2 in 1," Embry said grabbing a can off the shelf. He pulled out a random blue sample swatch from the wall filled with a rainbow of colorful samples. He laid his free arm around my shoulders before turning to the counter. Happy about his small little gesture I gave him a kiss on the cheek. Embry smiled down at me. I glanced over to see the male clerk give a small smile as he set up the paint

"You two just find out it's a boy?" The clerk asked.

"What?" I said, surprised.

Embry gave a low chuckle. "Yeah."

The clerk lifted the now colored can onto the counter and tapped it shut.

"Thank you," Embry said.

"Good luck," said the clerk.

Embry easily and quickly turned me away. I was still slightly stunned by the man's assumption as we turned out of the isle. As we made our way the checkout lanes I lightly hit Embry.

"Why did you say that? You could have told him no, just as easily," I said.

"I didn't want him to feel bad," Embry said.

"So you put his feelings over mine?" I looked down to my stomach and placed a hand on it. "Am I fat?"

"Oh, Ashley-"

"Oh, I am fat. So fat that someone thought I was pregnant."

Embry placed a hand over my mouth. "You are not fat, Ashley. You do not need to be worried about how you look because you are gorgeous." He dropped his hand from my lips and placed the paint can on the checkout counter. He took the basket from me and emptied it before placing it on the ground under the counter. He turned to me as the lady scanned the items.

"Feel free to compliment me on my compliment," Embry said.

"No thanks," I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

Embry paid for the things and picked up the plastic bags. We left the store and I drove us back home, maintaining a relative silence on the whole twenty minute drive.

o\/\/\/o

With the walls cleared and the furniture pushed into the center of the room (added thanks to Leah who stopped by before going to work) we started to paint.

"I still can't believe you let that clerk think I was pregnant," I said as I painted along he corners and window trim. "I mean you're just a teenager."

"But I look like I'm in my twenties," Embry said as he rolled the blue paint on the walls. "Two twenty-somethings having a child isn't abnormal."

"Oh, yeah… do you even get carded when you go to bars?" I asked.

"No."

I glanced over at Embry to see him reaching up to get close to the ceiling.

"I couldn't imagine why someone would do that," I mumbled to myself. "You're very much a man."

Embry looked over at me and I blushed. I finished painting all the corners and lined the ceiling and floor with paint before grabbing the other roller. It didn't take us very long to paint the walls of the room. Once every bit of pink was covered I lowered my roller onto the empty paint tray.

"You did a nice job there," I said.

"Why thank you Miss Ashley," Embry said, stepping forward to give me a kiss. "Though I'd take the compliment from earlier in our little activity."

Despite my blush I leaned forward and kissed him again. After yesterday I had guessed that anytime I was the one to initiate a kiss Embry would always go along with it. I wondered if he would ever be the one to say 'stop'. But all it was right now was Embry and I together, the two most basic things I needed to be happy. Embry plus me equaled happiness. Embry slowly started to guide me back towards the wall. Not wanting to be the one to get paint all over their clothes I turned us around and pushed Embry into the wall. There was a small moment where he continued to kiss me, having not yet realized his whole backside was covered in paint. Then it dawned on him and then he stopped.

"Ashley…" Embry said softly.

"Sorry Embry, I was getting so comfortable with you I forgot about the walls," I said with a smirk up on my lips.

"I'm sorry too," Embry said stepping away from the wall. I moved back a step as well.

"About what?" I said. Just as I spoke Embry moved forward and trapped me in his arms. I shrieked knowing what he might have planned. I pulled my arms free as he turned so I was facing the wall.

"Embry, come on," I whined. I felt him place a hand at the back of my head and push me forward. I quickly placed my hands behind his neck, interlocking my fingers, stopping him from moving me any closer.

"How is it possible that your arms are longer than mine?" Embry said, shuffling us closer to the wall.

"Embry!" I shouted. My face was then pushed up against the wall and I could tell that it was getting into my hair. Embry let go and I fell back into him. Instead of stepping back and letting me fall on my bum he wrapped his arms around me. I ended up being the one sitting on top of him as we hit the ground.

"I can't believe you just did that!"

"I can't believe you pushed me into the wall," Embry said.

I laughed. "Look at the wall." I pointed to the wall in front of us. On the wall was an imprint of Embry's backside and another of the right side of my face. Embry laughed as well.

"Do we have any paint left to cover that up?" Embry asked.

"I don't know," I said with a chuckle. "Let me check." Embry's arms released me and I crawled over to the paint can. "It's kind of hard to tell," I say dipping my finger in the can to check. I didn't care because I already had half of my face covered in blue paint. My index finger goes deep into the paint, all the way to the second joint in my finger. "We still have some paint to work with." I pull out my finger and show him.

"Good," Embry said, turning his head to get another look at the ruined wall. A mischievous thought crept its way into my head just then. I get up onto my knees and shuffle my way over. Embry is laid back, arms holding him upright and his legs lying on the floor.

"Ashley…" Embry says my name slowly getting a sense of my change in mood.

We both stood up at the same time. He managed to get half-way around the room before I caught up to him in a tackle. The tarp slid beneath our feet and we both hit the ground with a loud _thud_.

I let out a groan. "Em you okay?" I lifted myself up and moved forward to get a look at him. I placed my hand onto his cheek, my eyes checking to see if he was alright. His eyes snapped open.

"Ashley."

I realized I had placed the hand with my paint covered finger on his face. "Yes?" I said on a little huff of a laugh.

"Is that your paint hand?"

I laugh and wipe the blue streak of paint off his face with my thumb. "You okay?" I ask sitting up.

"Other than my hurt pride? No," Embry said.

"Oh good, I didn't want you to have any boo-boos or something."

"What if I had a boo-boo? Would you kiss it better? 'Cuz you know what? It looks like you have a boo-boo." Embry sat up causing me to slide back onto his legs and off of his stomach.

"What? Where?" Before I can say more Embry leans forward and kisses me on the lips. I pull away and laugh.

"Oh Embry," I said. He kisses me again. "Such a charmer."

"Oh, Ashley," He says before continuing on. Flirting with Embry was fun but the kissing… boy was it amazing

Each time we kissed I felt more comfortable and fell more for him, and I was already crazy about him. I wrapped my arms around him pressing forward slightly against his body. With Embry, my focus on the world was put into a blur. But that didn't mean I didn't notice anything. For example, like when Embry's 'little buddy' wasn't so little anymore and was poking its head into Embry's jeans and thus my jeans. I backed away from the kiss and when Embry leaned forward I had to stop him as I did the other day. I tried to get up out of his lap. But with Embry still being confused by me, his hands still held onto my hips, causing me to come back down right on his hard-on. He groaned and his grip on my hips reflexively got tighter.

"Embry." His name strangely came out sounding strained, but it made Embry stop instantly.

He let go as he said, "I'm sorry Ashley."

I slid out from his lap and stood in front of Embry. He got up as well. I turned myself slightly so I wasn't directly facing him. I didn't exactly know why that made me feel so uncomfortable. I knew how he held onto me after I had decided I wanted out made me feel trapped in a way, relating to how I was trapped with the vampires. The rest of my feelings were probably due to the whole rushed feeling of our relationship.

"Ash..." As he speaks my name he begins to reach out, I flinch away from him. Embry lowers his hand. I take another half-step away.

"Em – I – I don't know why – I just-" I looked over at Embry expecting his usual 'It's okay Ashley', but it doesn't come. He's obviously hurt by my actions, even if I wasn't even aware why I was doing it at the moment. I had also got him going and it was going to take a small moment to get him focused. "I don't know why Em. Don't know why, but I still love you, I just – I'm not ready for that, even though that was barely a difference between what we've already done." I take his hand and hold it in mine. "I just got this weird feeling… that-" I sighed, trying to explain while at the same time I had a churning feeling in my stomach.

"That we shouldn't be together?" Embry said.

"What?" I said surprised. "No. I know it may kind of feel like I'm going back and forth with you but I…"

"Love…" Embry quietly suggests the word.

"I love you Embry," I said.

A small smile dawned upon his lips. "I just wanted to hear you say it again," Embry said.

"I love you. I guess that's why I feel so nervous sometimes, like I don't want to love you because then I'll get hurt again if I lose you."

Embry pulls his hand out from my grip and places it on my shoulder. "Ashley, you don't need to worry about me. I can protect myself."

"Okay," I said, feeling slightly better. "Now why don't you get washed up? You can go on upstairs while I fix the walls."

"Alright." Embry gave me a kiss on the top of my head before leaving.

I picked up one of the rollers and used the remaining paint to cover our little mistakes. I then got to work cleaning up the room by removing the tarp and putting the paint away. Coming back from putting the paint things into the basement, I came to face a shirtless Embry. He was also wearing a different pair of shorts as he stood in the family room.

"Um, I think the walls are dry now, other than the area that I had to fix," I said. Embry began pushing the furniture back into place. I stood in the doorway and watched him as he worked. With him having no shirt on (possibly due to the fact that it was covered in paint) I've bounced back from being anxious about us together to being back in love with him. Embry stood in front of me once he was done.

"I have third tomorrow, I'll be coming over after I'm done," Embry said.

"So… you're leaving?" I say sadly.

"I'll come back later I just have to get some part of my homework done as well as change into some actual clothes."

I figured he was changing for the sake of my flipping mood. "Alright, see you soon," I said giving him a kiss. It was still strange to me how much heat came off of him. My eyes followed him as he left the room and beyond into the hallway.

o\/\/\/o

I found it strange that even though I was back home I still had trouble sleeping. Late into the night I lost my resolve and went downstairs to watch some TV. Leah had come home over an hour ago and I wondered if she had gone to bed yet.

I turned on the TV and the sound was so loud it scared me.

"Shoot!" I said, trying to quickly turn down the volume. The volume went down to zero and I waited a moment to see if I had disturbed Leah. I couldn't hear anything from upstairs, but silence didn't mean much when your roommate was as quiet as a ninja. I waited longer than necessary to see if Leah had risen from the loud noise of the TV.

"Okay, Ashley," I jumped at the sound of Leah's voice. "It would be perfectly fine if you actually had something like insomnia and if you had told me before I moved in, but you didn't, so I'm more than just a little annoyed."

"I don't have insomnia," I said. "I just haven't been able to sleep since the vampires attacked my family."

Leah calmed down a lot after that. She ran a hand through her hair.

"Oh. And you haven't slept through the night since then?" Leah asked.

"Only once. It was the night after the bonfire," I explained.

Leah looked thoughtful for a moment. "I've mentioned the fact to Embry once before, but he didn't seem that concerned to do anything about it. Thing is he probably doesn't know what to do. So there is only one solution."

"And what is that?"

"Sleep with him."

"Are you serious Leah?"

"Oh, come on. I don't mean fuck him, but you can if you want. Let me just tell you how it always seems to go for imprints, post-imprint – and trust me on this, I've been around long enough to know the pattern – the wolf has sex with imprint, both wolf and imprint are as happy as can be, get engaged then married and lastly have kids. So if you want to be happy, logic says have sex."

I was suddenly reminded of the trip Embry and I took to the store.

"Are you serious?" I said, far quieter than the first time. "But he's not even out of high-school."

Leah made a sound that was similar to a scoff. "He'll be out soon enough, I know Paul and Rachel are going to get hitched once he graduates – Don't tell Rachel I said that – and I know Sam and Emily are trying to have a baby."

"Well, I'm not done with college yet and I don't have-"

"Relax Ashley, I'm just making sure you know," Leah said. "The boys may all be younger than the girls they are with, save for one case, so they all have to be mature and if they aren't they learn it from the others."

"And what about you?" I asked just because I've always wanted to.

"Not going to happen," Leah said flatly.

"Why do you say that?"

"Because it isn't. Imprinting also has a second agenda and that is strengthening the gene, or at least we can all guess that. I mean, come on – you are a perfect example, you and your cousin."

"You mean Kim?" I said.

"Yes. Jared imprints on Kim and Embry imprints on you. You both come from the same grandparents, so there must be something special about your heritage. If you both had kids who turned into wolfs it wouldn't be too of the mark if they imprinted on each other, second cousins getting it on isn't really incest."

"What are you talking about Leah?"

"Okay, honestly if I do imprint on somebody in the next few years it may just be one of the next generation of kids. I figure that because I am a girl I'm a guarantee for offspring. Considering the fact that I myself carry the wolf gene, unlike all the other pairs, fate may play it so my kids have it on both sides, because there are plenty of chances for boy Pups. But because all of the possible people have phased, I could end up imprinting on your kids."

"Wow Leah," I said. "You've put a lot of thought into it."

"Yeah, I have. Wanna know what else I've put a lot into?"

"What?"

"Money for tampons. If I don't find a guy I am going to live forever and spend a fortune in tampons!" I couldn't help but laugh. "This isn't funny Ashley!"

"Okay, I'm sorry Leah. But I'm sure you are going to find some guy who won't mind your tampon debt. Hey, if you fuck 'em you won't need tampons for nine or so months."

"I'd have to always have to be pregnant," Leah countered.

"There's nothing wrong with that," I said hoping to get her to feel as awkward as I had felt when she first started up this conversation.

"And there is nothing wrong with you and Embry being together."

I very nearly frowned. "Touché."

"What's so wrong about you and Embry being together?" Leah asked.

"I just need things to go slow, and at the same time I know Embry's speed would be a hell of a lot faster. It is also kind of weird for my fate to be written out so surely. I kind of feel like one day I'm going to be told by a Pack member that 'oh, by the way you're going to have exactly four kids'."

"Looks like I'm not the only one thinking a lot."

"I'm either going to speed up just to get to the good parts but then I want it to go slow so I can savor all the moments – the few moments- that we have together," I said.

"Ashley, you gotta know he won't ever want to push you. If he ever does something that you feel like it's… over the top, or what you didn't expect, it's probably just the wolf in him," Leah said reassuringly. "Now try and go to bed Ashley."

"I'll try," I said. "Good night, Leah."

"Good night," Leah said before turning around and going up the stairs.


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Tuesdays will now be the update days, for whenever I update. Which now will be on a bi-weekly schedule. This means once every two weeks. I really pledge to this bi-weekly schedule and if I don't you can all come after me with any weapon of your choosing. (That is if you still care for any of my stories).**

Chapter 17

Saturday morning I woke up just shy of noon. The loveseat that I _had_ been sleeping on was violently shoved as two pack pups were fighting. Only having a little over two hours of sleep I slowly opened my eyes and grew angry as I stood on my feet. The two older boys, who were watching Zach and Ryan fight and doing little to stop, caught sight of my awakening. Only now did they attempt to stop the two young boys.

"Cut it man," Wyatt said.

I glared at Hunter and Wyatt, pissed that they finally came to their senses after I was awoken. I reached forward and grabbed at the back of the boys' necks, getting a handful of shirts. As I dragged them toward the kitchen and out the backdoor I yelled at them.

"What the hell are you boys doing? I was asleep! Couldn't you see that and move your stupid little fight _outside_?" I shoved the boys away. I glared at Jared and Brady. "And where were you all this time?"

"Outside…" Brady said, clearly unsure of what to do about angry Ashley.

Jared was more understanding about how I was feeling. "Sorry, they woke you up, Ashley. They were just supposed to go in and then get out. You can go back in and back to sleep. These guys won't be bothering you again."

"You sure about that?" Two hours of sleep can really do a person in. I could literally feel the annoyance rolling off of me in waves. I was pissed. "I could have at least gotten another hour of sleep before these bozos came in and woke me up."

Jared glared at Zach and Ryan. The two young boys looked shamefully down at the ground. Jared stepped forward and shoved Zach in the shoulder. The boy stumbled then looked up at me.

"Sorry, Ashley," Zach said, his eyes returning back to the ground.

"Sorry," said Ryan.

Instead of having my attention at the apologizing boys, I was in fact glaring at Jared.

"So what was going on out here that was so loud?" I said. "Why didn't you come in when you _surely_ heard them fighting inside the house?"

Jared sighed. "Ashley, I'm sorry about what happened but we have to go." He turned to leave. I ran forward and grabbed his shirt. There was no way in hell that my hand could ever get a grip on his broad shoulders.

"I didn't hear any howls, so whatever it is can wait," I said. I let go of his shirt and Jared turned around.

"It actually can't wait, Ashley," Jared said. "We all have to go. Now the boys said they were sorry, and I am sorry for what happened. If you want to continue this later, fine but right now we all have to go." Jared's eyes met with each of the boys'. "Let's go." Jared had waited until the last boy had made it into the woods before making a run for it himself.

"Jared!" I yelled after him, not expecting to run off like that. "Get back here!" I ran forward, knowing I wouldn't ever catch up to any of them. I felt my body lock up just as I got to the forest's edge.

Still standing in what could be called my backyard I looked into the woods. The boys were long gone and I looked like an idiot standing here. I wanted to move forward, take one step forward and I could still feel like I was in my own backyard. I'd just be a little closer to the tree just to my left. Unfortunately it seemed like my brain had lost communication with my body. At the same time, I could still feel what it was going through; the shaky breaths, the trembling hands and legs. My anger towards the boys I was stupidly trying to chase was reflected inward. Why couldn't I move forward? There was no clear definitive line that separated backyard from woods. My chest felt like it was being compressed. I dropped my head, tearing my gaze away from the woods. I tried to take a breath but failed. I wanted to move but couldn't and I was beginning to feel faint. I felt something on my cheek and reached a shaking hand up to brush it away. My fingers came away wet. I was crying out of fear and didn't even realize it. You'd think that when you're having a complete meltdown and just realized that you were going to faint that one could take control of their body. Wrong. At the apex of my strange episode my eyes shut and didn't open again, not for a long time.

o\/\/\/o

Embry POV

I arrived at Ashley's house with Jared at my side. After the meeting where we merged the two packs he talked with me for a moment. Jared told me that he wasn't fully able to tie up a little dispute and that I should go over and talk with her, to calm her down. Hopefully, with an hour to clear her head, she may have calmed down enough. It didn't matter if she hadn't though; I knew I could talk down an angered Ashley. I phased into my human form and pulled on a pair of shorts.

Instead of finding Ashley inside the house fuming, she was laying outside in the backyard.

"Ashley!" Scared something had happened I ran forward. I dropped to my knees at her side.

"I swear she was standing and awake when I left her," Jared said, coming to stand at my side.

Her legs were folded under her and I reached down to straighten them out. I then picked her up and headed for the house.

"Tell me what happened," I said as I walked. Jared followed and opened up the back door to the house.

"The pups were hanging out inside, but I didn't know she was sleeping there." I passed through the family room and went upstairs. "They started to fight, as usual and I was hoping that it would pass over or that the other two would break it up." Jared reached forward and opened the door to her room. "Next thing I know, Ashley is dragging Zach and Ryan out and yelling at _me_." I laid Ashley out on her bed then turned to face Jared.

"Jared, maybe it is because you shouldn't have just let the guys into the house," I said. "Ashley has been having trouble… sleeping lately."

"If she isn't feeling well maybe you should fix it, you have imprinted on her," Jared said getting annoyed.

"It's not really something I can easily fix because I am currently, just a friend to her," I explained.

Jared let out a huff of air. "Well I told you what happened. I'm going to head out." Jared turned around and left the room.

I glanced over at the alarm clock sitting on one of the side tables. It was one-thirty right now and Jared and the guys had left a few minutes before twelve. There wasn't a really good guess as to how long she had been out. It could be upwards to an hour.

I walked over to Ashley's side and sat down on my knees. I didn't feel like leaving her, like it would be the worst move I could make right now. I lay my arms on the bed, placing my right hand on top of my left then resting my chin on them both. I'd wait until she woke up unless I was dragged away or called out for vamp ripping time. Otherwise I was staying put. I'm sure Leah would find it creepy but I wasn't too concerned about what she thought of me, if she ended up coming home soon.

As I waited I thought back to the moment when I imprinted on Ashley. It was exactly three weeks ago as of today. Unlike Ashley I didn't find it strange that I completely loved her. The past week had been hard and I tried not to imagine the month ahead of us or else I would get in a sad mood. I wanted to savor the moments that I had with her while she was with me. That way, when we were apart during the week I would remember enjoying my time with her and being happy.

"Even if you are unconscious," I mumbled, slightly raising my head from my hands to get a look at her face. I turned back my gaze to the clock. It had been a total of hone hour since the last time I looked at the digital clock.

I had the urge to try and wake her up. She had been out for more than an hour. I had thought that she had just passed out and would soon come to. I sat up on my knees and lightly shook her arm. Not a twitch. I tried again, this time grasping her shoulders and shaking her lightly for a few seconds. Her eyes didn't flicker or open up.

Growing frustrated I stood up. My knees cracked loudly, and I threw a half-hearted glance at Ashley. She hadn't moved. I heard some people come from the woods and I went down the stairs to meet them in the kitchen.

It was Jacob, the new Alpha, and Seth, a now mid-ranked pack member. Crazily enough Paul had gotten third instead of Seth and Jared. I hadn't moved anywhere in the rankings so I didn't care as much about them. Nathan probably had a similar look on the new ranking in the pack.

"Hey, guys," I said.

"Hey, Em," Seth greeted.

"I'm worried about Ashley," I said.

"And that's supposed to be news to us?" Seth said.

I rolled my eyes at Seth. "No, something happened and now she's… she's passed out on her bed. I'm starting to worry that she hit her head when she… collapsed?"

"And you seem unsure of this because?" Jacob asked, catching my drift later than Seth who walked past me into the house.

"No one was here to see. I'm sure if someone had been here nothing would have stressed her out so much that this would have even happened," I said. Turning around I walked upstairs where I could hear Seth pacing around.

"Did you check her for any marks?" Jacob asked as we climbed the stairs.

"No, she was breathing perfectly fine and I didn't smell any blood so I thought she was alright," I said walking into her room.

"There's not a scratch on her," Seth said, baking away from Ashley.

I watched Seth for a moment before asking him, "Why are _you_ so concerned, Seth?"

Seth looked back at me and his eyes widened slightly. I grew apprehensive from the way Seth was acting. I took one, large step forward catching Seth's gaze for a moment.

"Do you know something?" My voice was low and stern, demanding that Seth give up any information that he could possibly have.

"No!" Seth yelled taking a step back. Seth looked over my shoulder at Jacob with a nervous look. I turned slightly to look at Jacob. His face didn't show any sort of emotion, not giving me any sort of hint I could go off of.

"Seth," I protested.

"Dude, it's nothing," Seth said, taking another small step back.

"It's not just "nothing" if it has to do anything with my Ashley," I said. If Seth didn't give it up my instinctive wolf-side was going to take over and I'd rip his ass to shreds.

"Forget I said anything Embry," Seth said, trying to calm me down. "It- it really doesn't have anything to do with this."

"Really?" I said. "Then why bring it up?"

"I didn't bring it up!" Seth yelled getting angry in his defense. "I didn't _say_ anything."

"Embry," Jacob said stepping in. "Calm down. She seems to be fine, but if you want to bring her to the hospital, that would be okay."

"What about Sue?" I asked, looking at Jacob.

"Aw, come on man. She's got her own life. She doesn't need to attend to every imprint's injury," Seth said. "Or 'not' injury to be better put."

I stepped forward and grabbed Seth's shirtfront. "I won't if you tell me what you know!"

"It was a motherfucking dream!" Seth said. He placed his hands over mine trying to undo my grip. "It was just a dream that is making all this feel like déjà vu. Now will you please let me down?"

I released my grip on him and took a step back. "Just a dream?"

"Yeah," Seth said, straightening out his shirt. "It was even weirder because I was just telling Jake about it. Ashley passes out and then you go ape-shit because…" Seth's words petered out.

"Because?" I prompt.

"It was just a dream, man! It's not like she's actually gonna die."

_And just as I was starting to calm down_, I thought in the back of my mind. "What?" I yelled.

"Embry!" Jacob said stepping forward. "Calm yourself, or go outside."

"I thought you didn't do orders?" I asked, not tearing my gaze away from Seth who had backed into the wall.

"It's to protect Ashley," Jacob said. Not wanting to argue with that logic I left the room.

After taking three steps down the stairs I placed my left hand on the rail and vaulted over it. I silently made my way to the kitchen and out the door. I yanked my shirt off and threw it to the ground. I phased and roared loudly when my two front paws hit the ground.

I thought about running away into the woods but that would mean leaving my Ashley. Instead, I just paced around the backyard in circles. I could hear them talking upstairs. About my reaction, about my Ashley. I tried to focus on something else, but it was hard to focus with three other people in your head.

_Just shut up and do your rounds,_ I said in response to the little flurry of thoughts that included my name.

_Don't flatter yourself man,_ Paul said.

_Fuck off_, I said. I turned and sat myself in the middle of the backyard, facing the house. I rested my head on my paws. I just needed to calm down until I knew I could handle myself. Then I could phase back.

As I waited I wondered how long Ashley had really been passed out. I knew for sure that she was out for the hour that I had been watching her, plus the ten minutes of fighting with Seth. Thing is, I didn't know how long I had been pacing around the backyard.

_Too damn long_, Paul complained.

I got up and ran into the woods where I had stashed a few extra shorts. It was easier to have a pair at the end of the line rather than carry them with you tied around your ankle. I slipped on a pair of basketball shorts and walked back towards the house. As I walked I quickly picked up my shirt that was now dirty with mud, I slung the shirt over my shoulder. I opened up the backdoor and went inside. As I passed through the kitchen I glanced at one of the clocks and saw that it was a quarter past three.

I paused for a second seeing if I really was calm enough to return to Ashley. I was worried and anxious about getting back to Ashley, but not angry. I went upstairs back into Ashley's room, making a promise to myself that I would not do anything that would keep me away from her side.

Jacob watched me as I walked over to Ashley.

"What time did you get here?" Jacob asked.

Just when I was going to turn and face Jacob to answer him, Ashley's eyes opened.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

My eyes opened and I found that I was no longer in the same place that I had passed out. I was momentarily dazed. My eyes focused on Embry as knelt beside me, his face full of relief.

"What… happened?" I asked.

Embry threw a glare over his shoulder before moving closer. "I moved you here when I found you outside. Are you alright? Does anything hurt?"

I waved my hand in his direction. His questions were too much at the moment. I was still trying to get a grip on things. _Embry_ was being a little too much at the moment.

"I'm fine," I answered. "My head just hurts." I tried getting up and Embry reached over to help me up.

"What happened to you Ashley?" Embry asked, sounding less overbearing.

"I-I can't remember," I said, placing a hand to the back of my head. The only thing that I could recall at the moment was being scared. If I told Embry that he'd be all sweet and caring and…

_Why am I suddenly mad at Embry? _I thought. _He didn't do this to me, I did_.

I looked behind Embry to see Seth and Jacob. "Can we talk… alone?" I said, bringing my gaze back to Embry. Embry turned to face the others and without a word they both left.

"Embry I… I just keep getting these… these weird feelings," I said, trying for once, to solve my problems via the guy who is supposed to help me through such troubles. "I know they are irrational but they just take over. My sleeping habits are still fairly shitty and I don't know if that is another side effect to what is happening or is the confound for my irrationalness."

Embry took hold of my left hand. "Is that what happened earlier? Or something like it?"

I nodded. "A feeling of… I just felt absolutely terrified, Embry and I don't know why." I reached my right hand over to cover Embry's and lift his hand into my lap. Embry moved closer, his head right near my elbow. "I can't get myself back to normal – I mean that I can't rationalize with myself. I'm completely consumed by the feeling, whether it be of fear or sadness or-or something else."

"You try to talk yourself out of it? Or can you not even manage that?" Embry asked. I tried to think back to the moment.

I shook my head. "I don't want to remember."

"Ashley," Embry murmured. He stood and moved to sit on the bed. I slid over, making room for him on the bed but he just picked me up and settled me right at his side. "I'm trying not to sound super protective right now, but if I were you I'd try to be careful. Maybe be a little more cautious." I raised my head to look at Embry. "I'm not saying exactly that you constantly need a baby sitter but-"

"-You'd be happy to offer to be that babysitter?" I interrupted.

Embry smiled at my comment. "Not necessarily, but… I'd be happy to be here whenever you want me."

"It's like I've said before – It's a good thing you're moving in here then."

"Yeah, thing is if I move in now I feel like I might feel worse by living here and being constantly reminded of you," Embry said.

"You'll never know until you try," I say, laying my head onto his shoulder.

I could hear and feel Embry's sigh. "I guess I will. Some day this week."

"That works out perfectly because this week is the start of April so there won't be any confusion over rent. With just three people it's 130 then when Quil moves in it lowers to 100."

"There's no discount for being the landlord's imprint?" Embry said.

I laughed. "No." _Not at the moment_, I thought. For right now, I wasn't going to worry about that subject coming under discussion. I was going to try and get myself back to a happy place with Embry at my side.

o\/\/\/o

(one week later)

Today we were having the bonfire at the house because it had poured all day yesterday. If it did begin to rain the 'party' would have to break up because not everyone could fit inside. Everyone was in attendance save for the three pack members on patrol; Jacob, Paul and Finn. I had found that I still loved the pack despite their consistent rowdiness, but the buzz of all the discussions and laughter was what I enjoyed the most.

There was one thing that came to mind while I was talking to a few members of the pack. School was usually mentioned in one way or another and I couldn't help but think how well I was doing in college. It takes all of my energy just to pay attention and take down notes during my lectures. I feel like any essay is completely pointless, and any opinion orientated piece that I write sounds so eff-ing depressing. So much so that one of my professors actually contacted my psychologist and the dean of admissions. She's trying to help me so I can get a semester off next year, so I can 'have the time to cope with things, and perhaps find a way to get over the recent tragedy in my life'.

I don't think I ever will truthfully. But at times I do feel mostly normal. I've finally concluded that the fact that I was with Embry was the factor for my happiness and my feelings of normalcy. He really is a great guy, he's so great it would take me more than a day to go over all the things he has done for me and all the reasons why he is such a great guy.

I just have to get through the remaining month and a half then I'll be back home for good… until my senior year starts. I shook my head, right now I didn't need to be thinking about that.

This time before people started to go home I got a few of the pack members into the kitchen to help clean up. I stood in front of the back door to make sure no one was going to leave when they should be cleaning up. Collin and Wyatt were doing the dishes while Finn put them all away.

A knock sounded on the door and I turned slightly to see who it was. It was Embry and I stepped back in order for him to open the door to come in. He stood beside me as I continued to watch the pack members who I had given clean-up duty.

"You are absolutely amazing," Embry murmured to me. "Good job on getting these guys to actually help out."

"They have to in order for me to keep doing these bonfire nights," I said, watching as Wyatt turned off the faucet. As the last dish was passed through the rest of the boys I walked over to the fridge. There was never any such thing as leftovers when you had any pack member over but I had taken some food and put it aside in Tupperware in preparation for tonight's clean-up plan.

I placed the two Tupperwares on the island and grabbed the third one out before closing the fridge. I had both of Collin and Wyatt's attention as Finn was putting the last dish away. They had curious looks on their faces and I didn't begin to speak until Finn had closed the cabinet and turned to face me.

"You all should learn that things should be done, like clean-up, just for the sake of being nice," I said. "Being a nice person is a good thing, even though your peers at school may influence you differently. Do you guys get that?" The three boys nodded, their eyes drifting between the food and me. "But I would like to reward you boys anyways because even though you should always do kind things it's always nice to be recognized for those actions." I pushed the food across the island, closer to the boys. "Each of you take one." There was a moment of flailing arms as each of the boys quickly grabbed a Tupperware. "Thank you boys, for helping clean-up."

"Youre welcome," Collin and Wyatt said as they left for the back door.

"Thank _you_," Finn said with a smile as he followed the other two.

I smiled back. Embry walked over and I met him on the other side of the island.

"As I said before you are absolutely amazing," Embry said. I moved forward and Embry met me for a kiss.

"Thank you," I said.

Embry looked around the kitchen that was the cleanest it has ever been after a pack gathering.

"It's so _clean_," Embry said.

"I'm hoping that they will carry their learned habits over to Emily's place as well," I said, taking a look around the kitchen as well. "Tell me if they aren't."

"What would you do if they aren't?" Embry questioned, looking down at me.

I shrugged. "I'll think of something, just like I had for tonight."

**AN: I know its short but I wanted to get this out there. I'm going to try and finish this story up in the coming months. So this will hopefully be coming off of hiatus soon but until then enjoy this little chapter and I hope it can help hold you all over until then.**


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